Shadows
by Her Little Doll
Summary: In a world where vampires and hunters are still at war, a vengeful pureblood dons the guise of her enemy and enters the fray. Her aim is simple: to utterly destroy the wretched world. Shizuka/Ichiru
1. Prologue

_(A/N Sorry it took so long to get this back up. About the story: OCs die very quickly in almost every situation. Italics are either quaint, poetic phrasing or my way of symbolizing that the character has stopped talking in Japanese and is now speaking in English.)_

Prologue: Coalescing Shadows

_Darkness. Pain. Big brother. Little brother. Them._

Life had been nearly unbearable for years, an endless dream of fear and hopelessness. Things had not been all that great beforehand either but at least there had been sunshine, a window, enough to eat every day.

_Hunger. Baggy clothes. Mother. Father._

Mother and Father had locked them in a basement for eight years. The shadowed rooms were lit only by dim lamps and furnished only by stacks of old books and worn sleeping pallets. There were two rooms, one which held the Door and the other which held their pallets, leading to a small, mirror-less bathroom. They did not need a mirror. They were twins and looked exactly like the other- amethyst eyes and silver hair, 'evil', 'filthy', as they were told every day.

Because their parents were vampire hunters, being twins was taboo, unheard of and a ghastly concept to consider. They were cursed, as wicked as vampires according to their parents.

_Misery. Hatred. Love. A bond that would be strong enough to break the Door if only it were corporal. _

The door was made of iron, a metal barrier between the twins and the house above, the outside world. Their only wish was to get through it and to always be by each other's side. Nothing was alright if they were not together.

_Underweight. Protective. Zero._

Zero was only so thin because he gave his little brother nearly all of his food. He tried to protect his brother from Mother and Father's unmerciful blows but then the younger twin just would not stop testing them, saying things, asking questions…

_Sickness. Fever. Ichiru._

Ichiru was just as thin as Zero, constantly suffering from an illness he had possessed since birth. In the womb, the Twins' Curse had taken effect and half of Ichiru's strength had gone into his brother. He was lucky to have lived so long, the younger twin. Still, he was frail and often feverish. That did not stop him from reading and reading and reading the books their father had brought them.

"_You're filthy enough without being illiterate too," Father had said when they were eight years old._

The books the twins had were boring and tattered, nonfiction dictionaries and history text books, literary explanations, grammatical works and bilingual encyclopedias. Ichiru taught himself to read then studied them with a passion, especially the dictionary of old words that the first hunters had used to craft their spells. He loved the dictionaries on foreign languages too.

"_Okaa-san, do you know English?" he had asked their mother._

_It had earned him a blow and Zero had run to his side, in whispers begging him to be quiet._

"_Don't ask such pointless questions," Mother had said as she stoically set their evening meal on a metal tray. _

"_But do you?" Ichiru persisted._

"_No. If I go to an English speaking country, it will be to kill vampires- I won't need to say much, will I?" She had turned then, ready to go upstairs._

"_Does Otou-san speak it?" "No, filth," she had snapped. "Shut your mouth already." The Door closed behind her, shutting them inside their shadowed prison. _

_From that day, Ichiru constantly wrote his brother little messages in English and Zero quickly learned the language. _

"_Okaa-san and Otou-san are…oh, what's the word?" Ichiru would say in English, even though he knew._

"_Evil," Zero would answer. "Or cruel. Or despicable."_

"_That's what it was," the younger twin would smile, despite the bruises on his face. "Because it says in these books that parents always treasure their children- even twins, even filth. Even useless trash."_

The text books were the only connection they had to the world, the tale-tellers that allowed them to remember the sunset, to imagine snowy mountains and the rolling waves of the sea. Their most precious treasure was one English encyclopedia that had pictures not too faded to see. They would talk about places they wanted to go and even created times of humor, laughing quietly with each other. They could survive, ward off the despair because of each other.

Zero's worst fear was losing his twin. His only desire was to protect Ichiru in every way he could and that was what he contemplated for hours into the night.

Ichiru, however, read books. Ichiru was the first between them to dream up a secret.

He read a dictionary on the hunter language, inspired by a goal far more grand than surviving. When Zero was asleep, he murmured incantations to himself, his voice nothing but a soundless breath of air. Even with only the elements of their strange magic, what if, through the limitations of the art, he could accomplish _something_? Every time their parents struck them, Ichiru was driven all the more desperately toward one, mad idea.

_What if he could make them pay for what they had done?_

o0O0o

"Demo, Onii-sama!" Yuuki protested tremulously, clutching her older brother's arm. "What if the Shadow gets me?"

The seven year-old's wine-red eyes were large, her rich brown hair cascading down in messy locks to her waist. She wore a pale green nightgown, her feet bare, her lower lip quivering. She was the most adorable thing 'Onii-sama' had ever seen but it was time for the pureblood vampire princess to go to sleep.

Kaname smiled gently at his little sister, placing his free hand on her head. "Yuuki," he said chidingly, "you are perfectly safe. Not even the legendary Shadow-san could get to you here."

"But Aido-kun told me that the Shadow is a hunter so powerful, she can infiltrate even the most highly protected vampire sanctuaries!" Yuuki wailed, pressing her cheek against her brother's sleeve and tightly closing her eyes. "He said that she has killed countless vampires- that she always wears a veil so that not even the Association of Hunters knows who she is!" she listed, diligently repeating the horrors her young tutor and unofficial 'nanny' had told her. "What if she is hiding under my bed, waiting for you to leave me so that she can stab me through the heart?!"

"It was Aido who told you this?" Kaname asked, his eyes darkening. That foolish boy was out stepping his place as a noble vampire in his duty to serve his pureblood masters. Frightening Yuuki for no good reason was unacceptable. The elder pureblood made a mental note to have a 'chat' with Aido later.

Kaname sighed, kneeling down to embrace Yuuki. "Yuuki," he consoled her, "the Shadow is not hiding under your bed. There is no human alive quiet enough to stay unnoticed by the ears of pureblood vampires. It does not matter if she has trained for decades or knows a thousand different spells; we would still hear her breathing, were she here." He placed his forehead against his sister's. "More ever, I promise that I will protect you from anyone who dares to try to hurt you."

Yuuki gave a little nod to show that she understood. She looked somewhat mollified as well, assurance and trust in her large eyes. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Hai. I love you, Onii-sama."

"I love you too, Yuuki," he answered, rising to his feet. "Oyasumi." He made sure that she was comfortably tucked into her bed and- at her insistence- that the Shadow was not hiding under it. He would have sincerely been surprised if the hunter had been but no- no veiled woman dressed in black, ready to choke his sister with wires. As by his acute pureblood senses, he had thought not.

He carefully closed the curtains of Yuuki's room against the rising sun, sending her a small smile as she whispered a sleepy "good night" to him. On silent feet he left her room, soundlessly shutting the door behind him.

He made his way down the shadowed hallway, the soles of his shoes making no sound on the carpeted floor. The sitting room was not far and he soon took a seat across from the man waiting for him, shooting the bespectacled 'ex-hunter' a slightly apologetic look. Moonlight drifted into the room, bathing the gray-carpeted floors in a pallid glow and leeching the color from the room. It shown on the human's glasses and glinted in Kaname's wine-red eyes as the pureblood draped his elbow over the arm of his chair.

"My apologies for making you wait, Cross-san," he said impassively, meeting the ex-hunter's gaze. His dispassionate tone was not due to any cold feelings toward his old friend; he had a habit of speaking stoically to everyone other than Yuuki. Having known Kaname for a long time, Cross understood that fact and smiled warmly in greeting.

"It is no problem at all, Kaname-kun," the ex-hunter assured him, pushing his glasses farther up his nose. Cross was dressed in a long, black coat and boots, his dirty-blond hair tied back in a ponytail. He looked tired but that was nothing new for times such as these. "How is Yuuki?"

Kaname frowned. "Aido told her about the Shadow today. She was so afraid that I had to make sure the woman wasn't hiding under her bed."

Cross smiled painfully. "Aido-kun probably mentioned Shadow-san accidentally and was forced to tell the whole tale by Yuuki pestering him until he did. I'm sure he didn't _want _to scare her, Kaname-kun." Kaname knew Cross was trying to make life less painful for Aido but he was used to it. Cross had a habit of trying to smooth everyone's problems over- it came from supporting peace in this age of war.

"Of course, Cross-san," Kaname indulged the ex-hunter graciously. "I understand completely." Completely understanding, he absently decided the best way to punish Aido was to frighten the noble class vampire so much that _Aido _was the one fearing the darkness under his bed. There would be blood.

Moving onto a more relevant topic, Kaname sobered. "I assume you have come here about the war?"

"That's certainly part of it," Cross sighed, his eyes troubled. "Things have not gotten any better in the past few weeks. Fighting has broken out in the western half of the globe- so openly that many humans are learning of the vampires' existence. _Both _sides have teams walking through cities and erasing memories. I just hope that neither the hunters nor the vampires one day decide that it would be a good thing for the common people to know."

"And your ideals?" Kaname questioned. "You were planning to plead with the Association once more the last time we met."

"I went to the meeting as you suggested, Kaname-kun," the ex-hunter informed the dark-haired vampire. "'Traitor' and 'naïve' are the most civil names I was called. The feelings the Association harbors for me are not pleasant to say the least. I was still able to make my case, strongly even and I will give them that they listened but…" Cross shook his head. "I don't think I got threw to any of them."

"A disappointment, indeed," Kaname murmured.

"Speaking of which, I was introduced to Shadow-san at that meeting," the human said, offering the pureblood a weary smile.

"Is Yuuki right to be worried?" A note of curiosity laced Kaname's voice. The Shadow was a mystery, known to assist the Association but not work directly for them. Of all the famous hunters, she kept the tightest lock on her identity and always kept her face covered. She did not even speak; when needing to converse, with the Association perhaps, a hooded assistant spoke for her lest her voice ever be recognized.

Cross frowned thoughtfully. "Shadow-san is as good as I was when I fought vampires. She…could certainly be dangerous to us if she acquired more power. Especially since she does not sympathize with my beliefs at all. While not openly condescending at the meeting, her assistant made it clear that she was not interested in peace. Her word swayed a lot of hunters against me."

"As skilled as that woman is," Kaname stated, "she can now only gain greater power through one method."

"And it is unlikely that she will be able to attain pure vampiric blood," Cross finished wryly. "I'm not sure if she is even the type to desire it, Kaname-kun- but that doesn't matter. I have more to tell you and talk of shadows will only lead us chasing after rumors."

"A fair point," the pureblood agreed ambivalently.

Cross drew a low breath. "I have news about your aunt."

Kaname actually smiled, his lips twisting in wry amusement. "If you are referring to Shizuka-san, and I assume you are, then be careful to never call her that in her presence. She loathes my family and frequently murders any unfortunate person to associate her with we Kurans."

"Technically," the ex-hunter grimaced, "she _is_ your uncle's fiancé." "And I share a mutual desire with Shizuka-san for that man to not be an issue, marital or otherwise," Kaname droned.

"You're right, you're right," Cross conceded. "Gomen. I consistently read her name that way in so many Association reports…" He trailed off, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "I meant to say, Shizuka-san has left Council protection. She simply opened the doors of her cage and left."

Kaname did not react to this information, hardly blinking at the news. "I suppose it is about time. She has allowed herself to be caged in that cell for nearly a thousand years."

Cross nodded solemnly. "Yet…it is rumored that she left with an ex-human, one who was previously her prey thrown into the cell. They say it is because of him that she left."

"It could be," the dark-haired pureblood allowed indifferently.

"I know it does not concern you much, Kaname-kun," Cross said with a frown, "but the Association is ruffling its feathers over her. No one knows where she is and not knowing where a pureblood vampire is bothers them immensely. Especially because of Shizuka-san's expertise in spell work. If she so desired, she could destroy practically all the wards around any Association safe house except for the headquarters itself- given enough time."

"They are worried she will lay siege to a safe house?" Kaname asked, raising an eyebrow. "Believe me, Cross-san, unless Shizuka-san has changed exceedingly in the few years since I last saw her, she will not care enough about the war to lift a finger with intent to effect it."

Cross let out a breath of laughter. "I will quote you on that. I suppose there is nothing more about her that we can do. For now, we must calms these fires erupting everywhere. The world will be destroyed if hunters and vampires persist." His eyes were intense, burning even in the pallid light of the moon. "I will not have Juuri-san and Haruka-san's memory be scorned with this foolishness."

"I am ready to hear your plans, Cross-san," Kaname said quietly, subdued as always by the mention of his late parents.

It was not the war that had killed them but peace had been Juuri's dearest wish, a desire Haruka had felt as well. They had fought as dedicatedly for harmony between the two races as Cross was fighting now. They had changed many hearts and come very far…until they were killed by an old enemy, Kaname's uncle and Shizuka's fiancé.

That story was forever engraved in Kaname's mind, the death of two people too good for this broken world and…one other.

It was only a matter of time before there was another death in the Kuran family. Kaname was gradually moving his pieces in a matter of years to capture his opponent's king.

o0O0o

One year of happiness had been bestowed upon the undying prisoner. One year of freedom had been granted to her, breaking her out of her reverie of peace and serene silence. Shizuka could not be forced to stay in a cage. The iron bars were like cobwebs to her colossal power as a pureblood vampire. Her guards were like toothpicks or statues of brittle glass, easily splintered. She had stayed because the world had always seemed ugly to her and silence was the sweetest music to her ears. One year of happiness had shattered that calm existence.

Now she was to reap the penalty of foolishly daring to believe she could possess a 'happy' life.

It was snowing ashes. What had once been a grove of beautiful sakura trees was now a skeletal graveyard of barren structures, clawing at the winter sky as the powdery, gray flakes rained down. The sakura had bloomed unnaturally in the bitterest month at the calling of Shizuka's power and now they were withering, disintegrating into dust at the unconscious cry of her heart.

There were ashes before her, all that remained of the only beautiful person she had ever met.

Ashen snowflakes settled in Shizuka's long, silver hair, brushing against the silk fabric of her kimono. The hard earth was cold on her bare feet but she did not notice it. Her cherry blossom eyes were locked on his ashes, the only one she had loved.

The remnants of hunter magic crackled around his formless corpse, the only corpse left behind by a vampire. He had been hunted down despite how far Shizuka and her beloved had been from the inane squabbles between hunters and vampires. Was it because she had turned him into a vampire, despite his wish to remain a human? Was it her fault? The thoughts, while present in Shizuka's mind, did not really reach her. She was still staring numbly at his remains, longing with all her being to awaken and find it a dream, find him beside her and sleeping peacefully. She would never again have that blessing.

A breath of wind stirred his ashes, stealing a few grains of the sooty substance and carrying it away out of reach. A soft noise escaped Shizuka's lips but if it was a moan of horror or a choked scream of anguish, she could not be certain.

Her knees gave way which was strange since her inhumanly powerful body had never failed her before. She hit the ground, her head coming to rest on his ashes, her trembling fingers grasping at the colorless grains. She felt cold, achingly cold as though all the blood in her veins was turning to ice. There were no tears in her eyes; she did not know how to cry and despite hundreds of years of existence, she had never bothered to learn. She stared blankly ahead and the wind ghosted on, stealing more and more of him from beneath her fingertips.

It had been a year since she left that cage with the ex-human intended to be her prey. In his blood she had sensed a beautiful world, vibrant as she had never imagined nor had any of her victims imagined. His perceptions were enrapturing, deep enough to drown in, showing layer upon layer of things she had not once even considered. The sun was warm. The rain was thrilling. The snow tasted sweet and sang lullabies as it fell for those with sharp enough ears to hear it. The world was beautiful and because of him, she had seen it.

In just a few hours, everything that had been her beloved was stolen by the wind. She was clinging to a bare strip of earth that offered no more warmth than the deadened trees around her. Numbly, she stood. She began to cast a spell.

The remnants of hunter magic lingering around the area had come from a weapon- an inch or so of enchanted wire that lay in the dirt. It had been separated from the rest of its coils, perhaps by sharp vampiric fingernails or teeth. It was the weapon of a hunter, the hunter who had killed him.

The spell Shizuka crafted swiftly gifted her with a mental image of the wire's owner- a tall woman clad all in black and wearing a heavy veil before her eyes. Vaguely, Shizuka recognized the hunter- a person called the Shadow.

Shizuka ran a shaking hand through her hair, displacing flakes of ash from the silvery strands. It was not a problem that she still felt sick or that her slender figure trembled with the sobs frozen in her throat. It did not matter that her telekinetic powers had slipped from her control, first to disintegrate the sakura blossoms and now to carve fissures in the ground every once in a while. She was more powerful when feeling strong emotions and surely not even this 'legendary hunter' could stand against a pureblood.

Shizuka tilted back her head, breathing deeply, her eyes closing as she inhaled the cool air. Under her breath, she whispered the words of another incantation, searching with her mind. Several miles east, she caught her prey's location.

It was time to turn the hunter into the hunted.

The Shadow was currently within a little town, shoddy buildings and faded street signs cluttering the empty streets. It was deserted- the refuge of ex-human vampires who were slowly losing their minds to the thirst. Or it had been. There was nothing but ash left of them now, the good fifteen of them there had been.

There was no way Shizuka's beloved could have been mistaken for a straggler of these miserable creatures. His clothes had not been tattered. His eyes had not been mad. Shizuka had kept him sane, given him the deliverance from mindless thirst that only an ex-human's vampire master could grant. The Shadow had hunted him down despite that.

A full moon hung in the sky, casting an eerie light over the ghost town. It's pallid glow could not penetrate the blackness of the Shadow's clothes. It reflected off of Shizuka's kimono, her silver hair, making her radiant- a shining saint of grief and vengeance. The pureblood vampire walked slowly down the cobblestone street to the faceless woman awaiting her. The bell strung on a cord around Shizuka's waist rang softly, augmenting the silence.

"A pureblood, is it?" The Shadow's voice was hard, distinctly feminine but not pleasant to the ears. It broke the illusion of stealth and fluidity that her name would suggest. "I thought as much. I sensed you stalking me quite some time ago, Kuruizaki-hime."

Kuruizaki-hime? Shizuka had almost forgotten the nickname her 'fiancé' had given her. It had quickly spread throughout vampiric court and even infected the Hunter Association. Few dared to call her such to her face but she was most commonly known by that ridiculous title in private discussions. It meant 'Madly Blooming Princess', a play off her wild power to make sakura blossoms bloom whenever she neared, no matter the season. It did not bother her on most occasions but now it made cold hatred swell in her heart. She wanted a face to align with her loathing but all she had was a faceless veil.

"Is it a fight you desire, pureblood?" the hunter continued calmly. "You caught me at just the right time. I'm in the mood for a challenge. Each vampire I killed today was tediously easy to reduce to ash." They were yards away from each other when she said, "my, my. I never thought I would see a pureblood cry."

Crying? Yes, Shizuka was crying but her facial expression had not changed. A single tear spilled down her cheek, glistening in the moonlight. Shizuka was crying for the first time and hated it because now she knew that she could. Still, she said nothing.

"I do know why you are here," the Shadow informed Shizuka quietly. "It's because the ex-human I killed was your lover, correct? There was a rumor about that, that you had fallen in love with a human and turned him into your slave. What a shame it is that his name was written on the Association's Execution List." Despite her words, there was no sympathy in her scathing tone, no remorse.

"For erasing that person," Shizuka said softly, "I will destroy you."

She was already evaluating the wards cast around the Shadow, eagerly in her raw desire for revenge. There was a ward against arcane attacks, powerful enough to make a magical duel pointless. The Shadow also had the all-important ward that powerful hunters wore in case they needed it- the ward that protected them from a pureblood's telekinetic power.

Yet something was wrong with this ward. Terribly difficult to cast and effective for long periods of time, the hunter spell was nearly impossible to break. Had it been flawless, Shizuka would not have been able to dispel it in a battle. She would have had to rely on her strength, speed and skill alone to kill the Shadow. It was not flawless however.

The Shadow's most important ward was riddled with cracks and faults, tiny but numerous flaws in the spell that could bring it tumbling down to nothing with only a hint of power. They were invisible to anyone who did not look for them but all the same, unbelievable. Why would the Shadow, the legendary hunter, arm herself so poorly against a fight she welcomed? A trap? Shizuka could sense no other living being in the area and no other spells.

The Shadow was unaware of her weakness.

"You are certainly welcome to try, Kuruizaki-hime," the Shadow was drawling in her unpleasant voice, "but your emotions undo you. I will gain much esteem by defeating you and so I will fight to the best of my ability. You, however, are shaken by grief and anger. It is a solid fact that purebloods are worse at fighting when they are angry." She tensed, wires glinting between her outstretched hands. "I hope you are not too disappointing an opponent."

Spurred by a mad rush of delight from her discovery, Shizuka felt her lips curve in a vicious, ghost of a smile. "It seems it will be the other way around, Shadow." She sent a perfectly aimed blast of mental power toward the Shadow's feeble ward. It silently crumbled down into nothingness, its energy dissipating. Easily, as she would to a defenseless, oblivious human, Shizuka then reached out with her telekinetic power and broke the bone in the Shadow's right leg.

The hunter sucked in a sharp breath, wobbling for one agonized moment until she collapsed to the ground. "N-nani?" she gasped.

Shizuka could hear the woman's heart beat pounding sporadically, shock and pain making the frail, human organ flutter like a caged bird.

"Your wards were weakened by something," Shizuka murmured, calmly breaking the woman's other four limbs as she closed the distance between them. A scream accentuated each crack. "Because of this, I can now kill you however I wish." She towered over the trembling hunter, looking down at the veiled face. "First you will answer my questions."

"I…" The Shadow was slow in regaining her power of speech. "I will tell you nothing, vampire!" she finally spat, her voice unsteady and choked with pain.

Shizuka knelt down beside the motionless woman and calmly removed her veil. Beneath the gossamer material, the Shadow was wearing a second mask that crossed diagonally over her face- yet now Shizuka could see the woman's wide, brown eyes staring back at her.

"Tell me your name," Shizuka instructed, emotionlessly pulling the mask from the Shadow's face.

With the veil and the mask gone, the Shadow was a passably pretty woman with a hard jaw line and light brown eyes. Her brown hair was pulled back into a thin ponytail that had been tucked up into her hat. Now it fell down to the ground, strands of hair escaping its tie.

The Shadow's jaw was clenched, her eyes angry and horrified, afraid and loathing.

"If you don't answer my questions, Shadow," Shizuka said softly, placing a finger on the woman's lower lip, "I will turn you into my vampire thrall and then order you to do so."

The fear dominated the Shadow's expression. This woman was not used to being helpless; it made her panic. "My name is Kiryuu Saika," the Shadow confessed in a rush.

"I see," Shizuka acknowledged, staring dispassionately down at the woman. It was strange that she had been first compelled to find the woman's identity of all things but 'Saika' was so much less horrific than 'the Shadow'. It was easier for Shizuka to speak her next words now that she was asking a frightened human woman. "You said the name of my beloved was on the Execution List. Why did this come to pass?"

"I…I don't know," Saika answered raggedly, her brow furrowed in pain. "There was an order from high up in the Association's ranks, the president himself I believe."

"And why would the Association President know the name of that person?" Shizuka said softly, her eyes darkening. "That sort of information would only be available to the Vampire Council, the names my former prey had gone by."

"Perhaps a deserter told him," Saika supplied, her voice choked.

"No," the pureblood shook her head, closing her eyes briefly. It was all to clear. "This is treachery." She knew who was responsible, in truth. She could not bring herself to speak it. The Association was in the pocket of her fiancé, just like the Vampire Council. That man had ordered her beloved executed just to hurt her- though there was no love lost between them, though the engagement was a humorless joke.

A building nearby cracked through the middle, broken by Shizuka's unstable power. She drew a low breath, forcing her emotions into control.

"I have things to do," Shizuka told the loathsome woman lying broken beside her. "I cannot do them as Hiou Shizuka, a pureblood vampire." She watched the woman for another few moments. In truth, a mad idea was gripping her and she no longer had a reason not to act impulsively. "We are about the same height- isn't that right? Though I am slightly taller." She did not wait for Saika's response, continuing the interrogation. "What is the identity of your assistant?" she questioned.

"Ah, Kiryuu Akihiro," the Shadow answered quickly, her eyes hazy. The moment probably had a surreal feeling to her, this woman who was never beaten. "My husband."

"Is that so?" Shizuka murmured. "Then are the both of you affiliated with the Association in any way through your true identity?"

"No," Saika breathed. "They don't even know we exist. As the Kiryuus, we are not believed to be involved with the war or even to know about vampires."

"Who else is involved in your life?" the pureblood continued. "Any family members?"

"Just…our two sons," Saika answered. "Zero and Ichiru."

Looking into the mirror was like looking into the face of a living nightmare. For the first time, Shizuka felt a tendril of dread and revulsion coiling around her heart at the sight of herself- and all because of a mask.

Saika's body was ash. The legendary hunter had been broken as a human then turned into Shizuka's thrall, that stricken look etched with seeming permanence on her passably pretty face. Then Shizuka had killed her- and with relish.

Even that did not make the raw grief in the pureblood's heart sooth; revenge did not bring back her loved one, the thing most precious that had been stolen from her. Hatred- the parched craving for vengeance however, seemed to be the only thing keeping Shizuka alive. It rushed through her veins as if it had completely replaced her blood. Were it drained away, she would be an empty shell- insubstantial as an apparation and as mortal as the winter's last snow.

Black, gossamer fabric slid under Shizuka's fingers as she straightened the veil she was wearing. Her slender figure was now clothed in dark hunter's attire, form-fitting around the torso and with slits on either side at the legs for free movement. Black pants sheathed her legs, heavy boots adding an extra inch to her height. Leather gloves were a second skin on her hands. She hated the clothes as much as she hated her reflection- and not because the long coat was just a hair too tight in the chest and slightly too loose around the waist.

The aggressive grace the battle gear had possessed when Saika was its wearer was different with Shizuka. The pureblood was subtle and quiet, a patron of the night. Like most hunters, the late Shadow-san had been loud, violent and fierce. The demon currently standing before the mirror was not a hunter dressed in black. She was a being with the terrifying fluidity of a predator about to spring, danger screaming in every inch of black cloth even though she was standing still. She was a shadow.

Her identity as a pureblood had also fallen away. Subtle spell work surrounded her body in an unbreakable mesh, hiding her aura of power. No one would sense her vampiric presence- not unless she allowed it.

Shizuka let her eyes fall away from the broken, rusting mirror. She stood within an abandoned house, the windows boarded up, the walls cracked and a pile of dust on the floor from when she had shaken Saika's remains out of her new clothes. At her feet on the creaking wood, was a heap of silk that was her discarded kimono. Atop it was a pale-colored cord upon which a bell was strung. Shizuka reached down, extracting it from the white garment. It emitted a light ringing, swinging on the cord from her gloved fingers. Staring at it, Shizuka realized with numb wonder that her hands were shaking.

"My soul has become black," she murmured in a dead-voiced whisper. She let out a low breath, closing her eyes for a brief moment; then she tied the cord around her slim wrist, letting the bell dangle within her wide sleeve. It was cool against her palm when she lowered her hand.

"Well, Shadow-san," she observed mockingly to her late enemy or perhaps to herself, "it does seem as though you have killed Hiou Shizuka, does it not? There are her empty clothes amidst her ashes and here on your wrist is the trophy you took from her corpse. What esteem you will surely get for murdering a pureblood and her lover."

Her voice sounded hollow, even to her own ears.

"Saika?"

The male tones hit her senses and she tensed in surprise. There was not another living being around her for miles- she was sure of it. For a moment, her thoughts cast about wildly in search of answer; then it all became apparent. The veil was enchanted and she noticed that now. Upon further examination, the ward around the veil could stifle sound if activated and it also brought to her the sounds from somewhere far away- a companion ward bound to it. This was how the Shadow spoke to her assistant, surely. The hunter woman would speak into the ward so that no other would hear and her assistant would hear her voice through his ward- that way he could relay her words.

Shizuka carefully avoided activating her part of the ward, listening as the man- Kiryuu Akihiro, surely- continued.

"We're needed on the front lines in the mainland so finish up there, alright? Here's the excitement you wanted so badly. I've arranged for a car to pick you up," he explained. "Oh, and don't worry about the veil. They're expecting the Shadow." He paused for a moment, waiting for a response. "Saika…?"

Shizuka let a frown slip onto her lips, then activated the ward. Her voice would not sound quite right but she was fairly certain she could muster a reasonable imitation of Saika's tone. "Finally, yes," she said with forced impatience, making her habitually soft voice hard. "I'm coming." She was quiet as he explained the situation- a small hunter outpost overwhelmed by a swarm of commoner vampires and a few nobles. If the vampires were victorious, they would gain territory that, in their possession, would lead to the strategical disadvantage of the Association.

As she listened, she extracted one more item from Saika's ashes- a coil of wire that sent chills of dread running down her spine. This blood-stained coil had killed hundreds of vampires and also…that person who was now lost forever. The sound cloth of her gloves protected her vampiric skin from the sting of its hunter enchantment but did not lesson the horror bleeding into her from the cold metal. She closed her eyes against the memories of him, the horrid truth of his death; she closed her heart against the sorrow and put the wire on her belt.

She left the abandoned shack, feeling as a stranger in her own skin. When she walked, her heavy booted feet made no sound at all. The cool breeze that now stirred the air in lazy currents made the black veil around her ripple. Akihiro told her where to find the car and driver. She made for that destination with a human's slowness.

The car was waiting for her at the edge of the ghost town. It was black. Shizuka said nothing as she slipped into the backseat. The driver said nothing, nodding respectfully to her and taking off down the road. She successfully kept her discomfort from showing but it nagged at her mind with unwavering persistence. That she had never before ridden in a car did not help the situation. When she had entered confinement thousands of years ago, cars had not existed. Was this strap supposed to connect on the other side of her body? She pretended she had not a care for it and stared out the window.

It was only thirty minutes before she felt the atmosphere change- not surprising as the driver sped down roads with all haste. They had traveled deserted roads and busy streets but now they were driving through an area in good repair; good repair despite its emptiness. There were no city dwellers in the buildings around them, no cars on the street. The town had been evacuated and in the distance, sounds of battle were carried to Shizuka's sharp ears.

The driver pulled to a stop at the side of the road. "Shadow-sama," he said quickly, "here is as close as we can get by car. The hunter units are being overrun just two blocks from here. Can you make it on your own?" He twisted in his seat to look at her.

She inclined her head once and slipped out of the car. She was immediately assaulted with the scent of blood- the blood of humans and vampires. The car drove off in the way they had come. She took the coil of wire from her belt, wondering half-interestedly how she was supposed to use such a weapon. She had seen Saika stretch it between her fingers- most likely with the intent to sling it around her enemies' necks and choke the life from their bodies. The Shadow was a powerful hunter however- perhaps this wire severed heads right off their shoulders. Shizuka could certainly achieve such a feat with the loathsome device.

She was at the battle field in a heartbeat, moving with inhuman speed to cover two blocks of distance. Her senses came to life with the presence of many auras- vampiric and hunter- all around her. Gunshots rang through the air, final screams and cries of hunger from parched throats resounded together in a chaotic tumble of noise. Bodies struggled, darting here and there and then not moving at all. All around, buildings were broken, the pavement smashed and street signs ripped from the ground. Before her, hunters struggled against an unrelenting mob of commoners. They were gravely outnumbered but the commoners were gravely out-skilled. Fifteen hunters were clear in Shizuka's sight and the vampire mob seemed endless.

"Saika? Are you here yet?" came Akihiro's voice.

She spotted him- a cloaked figure fighting five vampires at once on the edge of the mob with a katana.

"Yes, I am here," she replied simply. Then she attacked.

She threw herself full on into the mob, catching vampires around the throat from behind with the wire and effortlessly using it to decapitate them. Blood flew, its scent a rich perfume in the cool air. The pureblood vampire killed mechanically, methodically, slicing away at her foes with a weapon that was more of a hindrance than an aid. It was amusing- the Lady of the vampires' race soaking her hands in their blood when all she need do was call out in her pureblood voice and tell them to die. Nobles and commoners could only obey their pureblood masters; it was in their veins to surrender.

Shizuka was now fighting in the middle of the mob, all sight of her hunter 'fellows' lost in the tangle of commoner heads and limbs. She whipped the coil of wire outward, severing torsos from bodies around her with strength no hunter ought have possessed. They kept coming, new enemies replacing the dead and stepping on the ashes of their comrades. Shizuka did not falter; it was not as though she would run out of energy.

Then she began to enjoy herself.

It was the simplest thing she had ever attempted and how hilarious to be betraying the race that had never done a thing for her, had gawked with the rest of the world at her as she silently watched behind iron bars. She cared not at all for the war; everyone in the world could die. It did not matter- but while their lives ended easily as though they were disgusting bugs crushed beneath her feet, she knew she hated each one of them.

It became a bit of a game. Whenever she was in sight of a hunter, she would fight as the Shadow, a legendary hunter wielding a coil of blood-stained wires. When she was all alone amidst the sea of vampires, she would become what she truly was- a demon masquerading in a costume of black, wearing her racial enemy's skin like a mask. When she curled her fingers, blood was squeezed from the leathery material of her gloves to drip to the ash-coated earth. Gradually the sea of vampires became something smaller than a sea- a fanged crowd of monsters, a fearful group of stragglers and finally mere dust on the red-speckled streets.

The group of hunters remaining had been halved and each of the survivors was staring at Shizuka in awe. Akihiro was among them, his eyes invisible beneath the cowl of his hood. Keenly feeling their gaze, Shizuka removed one of her gloves and wrung the blood from it. After replacing it, she began to neatly coil the wire once more.

"Amazing…just amazing- and we were sure to have lost this territory long before reinforcements arrived," Akihiro told her. "I'll send our report of the incident to the Association tomorrow. We should get home to the twins now. They haven't eaten since yesterday morning." He paused. "You really were hungering for a battle, weren't you, Saika?"

She glanced at him, giving him a small nod. She did not feel like mimicking Saika's voice; she was unskilled at it. Akihiro began to address the remaining hunters, his words not exactly orders- they were not under his authority- but powerful all the same. Shizuka decided she needed him. She could never carry on this hoax without his knowledge and presence. Well, it was not difficult to make him her thrall, was it?

Her thoughts turned to the assumption she had already made about her future. Yes, she was going to carry on her deception, impersonating a legendary hunter. She was going to use it to find her despicable fiancé and permanently end his life. There was nothing but hatred keeping her living now, her emotions dulled to bitter amusement and cruel enjoyment of the kill. She remembered her fiancé's mismatched eyes- the seemingly charming smile he donned like a mask. She had loathed him at once- why had she not bothered long enough with the world to see the engagement nullified? Why had she allowed him to do whatever he wished in his little circles of vampiric court while she remained peacefully in a cage away from all she hated? Why had she not plotted to kill him before now? Had she done so, her most precious person might never have been snatched away.

"Saika," Akihiro interrupted her bitter musings, "let's go home." She followed him as he strode from the block. Cars were pulling up, hunters meeting with their fellows and arranging on small, black phones for clean up of the area. As she passed they called out to her, some bowing respectfully, some praising her with admiring smiles on their faces.

The Shadow and her assistant stole away from the rest. Akihiro had a car some distance from the battle and to her relief, he did not expect her to drive it. She slid into the passenger seat and was silent for the duration of the drive.

They had come to a small town, driving leisurely through the shadowed streets when Shizuka got the feeling they were nearing their final destination. The sun was rising, a line of fire staining the horizon in the east. Its vibrant color bled into the night's retreating darkness, tainting the once velvety rich blackness into gray and orange hues. Shizuka stared out the window, her pensive silence drawing her 'husband's' attention.

"You're thinking about them again, aren't you?" Since she was unsure of to whom he was referring, she just nodded.

"It's not your fault, Saika," Akihiro said, the slight weariness in his voice suggesting that this was not the first time. "It was a fluke of magic- a mistake. You must stop blaming yourself for giving birth to twins." That drew her attention- he had mentioned twins before but it had not registered in her mind. Didn't hunters not ever have twins? Weren't twins of hunters supposed to be cursed?

She nodded again to get him to stop talking. She would find out later.

He pulled into the drive of a small house just outside of town. The plain dwelling did not seem lived in, dull in its appearance. He parked the car in the garage, pulling down his hood and getting out. For the first time, she glimpsed his face. He had silver hair, a shade or so darker than hers, despite only appearing to be in his early thirties. His eyes were the color of amethysts. Despite his exotic features, she did not find him to be much more appealing to look at than his late wife had been. Shizuka stepped out of the car, following him as he shut the garage door after them and entered the house through a side door.

She froze on the doorstep, glimpsing only his back as he disappeared down the hall. There were anti-vampire wards around the house, screaming their disapproval at her as she strove to enter the dwelling. They were minor wards but she made haste as she murmured an incantation to break them all the same.

"Saika? Is everything alright?" Akihiro called absently just as she finished deconstructing the last ward.

"Everything," she reassured him, altering her voice slightly. She crossed the threshold, walking into the hall. She found him in a sparsely furnished living room. He had a first aid kit open next to him as he sat at one end of a couch. He was treating a long but shallow gash down his arm.

Her brow furrowed in confusion- why had she not realized he was hurt? Surely she would have noticed the scent of his blood. It dawned on her; both of their garments were enchanted to hide the smell of their blood. Vampires, after all, could identify a person based on that fragrance.

Akihiro looked up, confusion crossing his face as he saw she was still wearing the veil. He did not mention it however, continuing with his task of cleaning the cut. "Were you injured at all?" he questioned, glancing at her.

She shook her head, standing in the doorway of the room.

A wry smile spread across his face. "Figures. You're too good at what you do. One day, the Association will be asking you to take on armies single-handed." She did not respond and he continued, talking too much to make up for her silence. Perhaps he was trying to distract her from her thoughts of twins? "Did anything interesting happen while you were off hunting from the execution list?"

In the meantime, he had done something exceptionally convenient- he had put himself alone with her in a place that was out of sight and far enough from the city for sound to remain unnoticed. It was time to let this façade crumble.

"Sou," she murmured, answering his question honestly. "The Shadow got into a fight with a pureblood vampire; Hiou Shizuka."

He froze, looking at her sharply. "Nani?" he breathed. "A pureblood?"

She nodded slowly. "Sou. Then Hiou Shizuka killed the Shadow and stole her skin." She had not bothered to alter her voice. The way his entire countenance had changed from relaxed to rigid and tense was a clear sign he was unbalanced. His expression was that of one who was about to be horrified, about to be stricken with shock and fear- for this was just like a tale of horror. The person he had been talking familiarly to was in truth his wife's killer and a blood drinking beast at the same time.

Shizuka pulled the veil and the mask from her head with one motion, letting them fall to the floor in a heap of black cloth. Her silver hair cascaded down to her waist, released from its restraints. She regarded him with a bitter smile, her cherry blossom eyes glinting with misery.

"The fault for my loved one's unfounded execution did not rest with Saika, Akihiro," she assured him tonelessly. She spoke familiarly without honorifics but only because she had a habit of acting with closeness towards the ones she intended to hurt- or kill. Saika, as a person Shizuka had killed, would always be just 'Saika' to the pureblood, spoken of like a good friend. "The person who put my lover's name on that list is, of course, to blame. However…"

Akihiro had a katana in his hands and he was standing now. The expression on his face was stoic- a fighter's face- but his eyes were still lost in his horror.

"His blood still stains this wire," she continued in a broken tone, letting her fingers ghost across the coil on her belt. "How could I not kill her? Especially with your wife being such an unpleasant person…" She let her gaze sharpen as she watched him. "I happen to need this identity to kill the person actually responsible, Akihiro. Of course you do not mind assisting me for the rest of your life…isn't that right?"

He lunged at her with a snarl, the hopeless act fueled by the mindless rage in his eyes. The Shadow had been nearly a titan the same way that purebloods were; her assistant however was just a hunter, just someone who could not possibly hope to defeat Hiou Shizuka.

She was gone in an instant, moving to stand behind him with inhuman speed and catching his wrists in her grip. A mere tightening of her hands snapped his bones as though they were twigs and the katana fell to the ground. She had no desire to play with him; this would end quickly.

She effortlessly drove him forward, pinning him face first against the wall. He strained in her grip, cursing her, but his attempts to break free were useless. She sank her fangs into his neck, letting the taste of his hot blood soak her tongue.

His struggles gradually faltered and finally, as she pulled back, he was still all together. She released him, allowing him to turn at meet her gaze.

"What do you wish of me, Hiou-sama?" he asked tonelessly, staring at her with vacant eyes.

Shizuka smiled coldly. "Become my slave."

o0O0o

"They must be fighting an actual battle today," Zero murmured, staring up at the shadowed ceiling. Neither he nor his brother could sleep, hunger gnawing at their stomachs with dull and persistent teeth. The elder twin loathed nights like this where his parents just did not come home; it meant Ichiru was suffering and there was not a single thing Zero could do about it. He had no ration to sacrifice for his brother. He had no energy to share a fragment of humor, no warmth for a smile.

Ichiru made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat. Unlike his brother, he was not negatively affected by the absence of their parents. His eyes were bright despite his impassive expression. As they lay awake in the back room of their two-room prison, he was dreaming of blood and perhaps a light brilliant enough to completely banish the shadows from his life.

"You're thinking about something," Zero called him out, turning onto one side to regard his brother.

The thin sleeping pallet beneath them was wide enough for both their skinny frames and they rested side by side. That night there seemed to be a barrier between them, the unfamiliar darkness of secrets in Ichiru's eyes. It was strange; Zero could almost always guess his brother's contemplations but the younger twin's mind was now a mystery to him.

"Thinking about things is a habit of mine," Ichiru said, the light note in his voice evasive. He was too wound-up to lie convincingly. Every minute his parents were gone made him more hopeful. Was Okaa-san dead? Had he killed her yet? With a spell he had invented himself, he had destroyed the anti-pureblood ward protecting her from telekinesis. Had it ceased to matter in a storm of level B and below vampires? No matter, he told himself. If she came back alive, he would break more of her wards- and more and more until it _did_ kill her.

He knew he was murdering Zero.

"I'm just wondering, Zero, if starving to death is really so awful," he explained then, the casual tone in his voice forced- because if the iron basement door never opened…

"They will come back, Ichiru," Zero assured him with a sarcastic smile. "We won't die before then."

"And say they don't come back?" Ichiru breathed, his gaze drifting from his brother to the ceiling. "Would that really be awful at all?"

"It would be awful," the elder twin affirmed without hesitation. "We would die and then I would lose you."

A question that was constantly haunting Zero's mind returned with force. In the womb, they had unconsciously battled each other to see which would live- Zero had won. It was such with every set of twins born by hunters. The winner would absorb its sibling's strength and one child would live- the other would be stillborn. Yet Zero had not killed Ichiru, only taking half of the younger twin's strength. He should not have taken any and then the unrelenting illness that even now laid the flush of fever upon Ichiru's cheeks would never have existed.

Without meaning to, he spoke, his voice very quiet in the shadows. "Okaa-san told me something once," he said softly, his eyes locked on Ichiru's face. "I think it was when we were seven- the day she took me out of this basement for a few minutes." The younger twin gave a nod of understanding to show he remembered. Zero drew a low breath and continued. "She told me I could live outside, go to school, become a hunter. She said she would treat me as her son…if I were to kill you."

Ichiru scarcely blinked. "It's not surprising she would say something like that."

Zero was taken aback. "That's it?" he demanded, sitting up to look down at his twin. "She told me to strangle you in your sleep! That doesn't bother you?"

The younger twin rolled his eyes with a sigh. "What bothers me is that you didn't do it. You should have killed me, Zero. I was meant to die anyway. Think of it intelligently- if you _had_ strangled me in my sleep, you could have acquired enough power to kill both of those monsters."

"But…" Zero stammered, staring at his brother wide-eyed and lost. "You would be dead."

"We're already dead, Zero," Ichiru muttered, a scathing note in his voice. "According to the world out there, we were never even born."

"If the same choice had been offered to you…?" his brother began. This was what he had always wanted to know with a sort of masochistic hunger that gave him nightmares.

"I would have done it," the younger twin said unflinchingly, turning on his side to face away from his brother. Then he whispered, "Besides…if I haven't killed you already, I intend to. That's why I asked about starving to death."

"What do you mean?" Zero demanded, shaking away the past and the pain to focus on the more current problem Ichiru was alluding to. He was hurt however and it now surfaced as the note of rising anger in his tone.

"I don't really feel like talking about it," Ichiru said evasively, his voice flat, "but the reason Okaa-san and Otou-san are late might be because the ward protecting _Shadow-sama _from purebloods could be shattered with the slightest breath of an arcane attack. You see…I cast a spell to destroy it."

"What?" the elder twin breathed, inhaling sharply. "You learned magic? How?!"

"The dictionary Otou-san gave us," the younger answered reluctantly. "All spells are in that language- it wasn't hard to invent a few."

"No one can _invent _spells," Zero pointed out harshly.

"Then how were any spells thought up in the first place?" his brother scoffed. "Stop bringing up irrelevant things." "It's not irrelevant!" the elder snapped. He drew a low breath, calming himself. "Well, if you know spells, can you get the door open?"

"Of course not," Ichiru said wryly, frowning at the gray material of his sleeping pallet. "If hunters could manipulate physical objects with our magic, we'd be called 'wizards', wouldn't we? The best I can do is warp someone's perceptions- specifically, those people with the gene that connects us to the vampire race. Otherwise, it's all wards and anti-vampire crap."

Zero stood up, turning away from his brother. "I should have known this entire idea of yours was useless," his voice devoid of warmth and coiled as tightly as a spring. His back was to Ichiru so he did not see the younger twin flinch at the cold word. He remained unaware as Ichiru's voice was steady and sharp as steel when a retort was delivered.

"Why? Because I and everything I do is useless?" Ichiru spat, standing up. His amethyst eyes bore holes in Zero's back.

"No!" Zero denied angrily, whirling around to face his brother. His face was ashen but his eyes were wild and afire with hopeless fury. He grabbed the collar of Ichiru's shirt and with one powerful step, slammed his brother against the wall. "No! It's because I would rather live decades in this hellish room than see you die! Can't you understand that?!"

Ichiru let out a shaky breath, dizzy from the sudden attack. He met Zero's gaze dully, slumping against the wall. The look seemed to bring Zero to his senses and the elder twin quickly released his brother, guilt flashing across his face.

"Gomen," he apologized in a whisper. He closed his eyes, his shoulders shaking slightly. "I…You deserve everything, Ichiru. Don't say you should have died because…you're my reason for living."

"Zero is too gentle," the younger twin said softly, his voice no longer hard with sarcasm and bitterness. "My reason for living is to kill our parents. I'm sorry that it will kill you too."

Zero was about to reply but he was cut off by the deep, reverberating sound of the basement door being opened. Ichiru sighed, disappointment turning down the corners of his mouth.

"_It looks like I've failed_," he said in English to his brother. "_Let's just hope mother doesn't know what I've done."_

The elder twin let out a breath of relief. A small smile touched his lips. "_I'll protect you. I promise_."

"Zero, Ichiru, come here," called Otou-san's voice hollowly from the other room.

Zero opened the door of their bedroom, glancing at Ichiru. "_Stay here_," he said. "_I'll tell him you're sick_."

"_He'll be angry if I don't come," _Ichiru disagreed, quietly slipping out of the bedroom after his brother.

Their eyes swept over their plain common room, the stacks of worn books and dim lamp that were the only furnishings. The enormous, mechanically locked iron door in one corner of the room hung open, its five-inch thick surface hanging from large hinges. Otou-san stood in the doorway, dressed in his battle gear.

That in and of itself was a frightening sign- so much that neither of the twins noticed the hints of blood staining his neck or tangling in the strands of his silver hair. They noticed the vacant look in his eyes but they attributed it to an unknown emotion- one that should be found out as quickly as possible.

"Welcome home, Otou-san," Ichiru said softly in Japanese, placing a hand on Zero's shoulder for support. He still felt slightly dizzy but he shoved away his ever-present frailty, intent on concentrating. It did not help that he had not eaten. Hunger was giving him a headache.

"Come here," Otou-san repeated without inflection.

"_Something's off_," Zero murmured to his brother.

"_What should we do?" _Ichiru replied tensely, his voice hushed. Otou-san did not react to their conversation, staring blankly at them in wait.

"_Stay here," _the elder twin ordered, boldly approaching their father. He addressed Otou-san in Japanese once more, his shoulders hunched slightly as he neared the person who had beaten him so often. "What is it? Are you taking us somewhere?"

'Somewhere' really could only mean one place- the closet. Whenever the twins did something wrong, they were locked in a hallway closet, so small that there was barely enough room to sit down. Naturally, both of them were claustrophobic by now.

"I am to take you upstairs," Otou-san intoned, mechanically seizing Zero's wrist in an iron grip. "Ichiru too. Come here."

Zero shot his brother a helpless look. Ichiru nodded and went to their father. Upon grabbing the wrist of his youngest son, Otou-san turned and pushed them along in front of him through the iron door.

"_I always want to run for it when he takes us out_," Ichiru breathed as they were marched up the stairs to the ground floor of the house. _"We could never break the wards around this place though. Not even I could- not without plenty of time. They would get us by then." _

Zero was not listening; he was staring at his father, his brow furrowed and a slightly unnerved expression on his face. "_Ichiru," _he said uncertainly, steadying his brother with his free hand when Ichiru stumbled on the stairs. "_Do you sense anything? Otou-san's clothes cancel out any auras that a hunter might normally give off but…it's weird._"

Ichiru shook his head. "_I don't sense anything. Then again…we both know your senses are better than mine." _Zero nodded, not noticing the bitterness in those last words. He was quiet as they walked down the hall, passing the closet they were usually locked inside. Ichiru looked around with interest, savoring the moment to observe new surroundings. The house was big- very big, like an old mansion despite its modern furnishings. Then Zero inhaled sharply, coming to a halt only to trip as Otou-san pushed him along. Zero fell to the ground, looking up at his father in horror.

"You're a vampire!" he cried, staring into his father's vacant eyes.

"A vampire?" Ichiru said with a sharp breath, looking over his shoulder at Otou-san.

"If you do not walk, I will carry you," Otou-san said tonelessly. "We must not make the lady wait." Ichiru's eyes narrowed and he murmured an incantation under his breath. Abruptly the hand Otou-san had around Ichiru's wrist burst into white flame. The silver-haired man let out a moan that was only an echo of a human cry of pain. He released his youngest son, numbly batting at his flaming skin.

"Let's go!" the younger twin shouted, grabbing Zero's elbow as the elder stood.

They took off, racing down the unfamiliar hallway on long legs. Ichiru, though the one initially to lead their mad dash, was soon overtaken by Zero who pulled him along protectively. The elder twin glanced as brother.

"I'm sorry for calling your magic useless," he said with a wan smile.

"It's nothing," Ichiru waved off though he felt like he could collapse from the strain of maintaining their frantic sprint. "Ne…he'll be coming after us. Let's hide somewhere." "Here," Zero agreed, pulling Ichiru through a door into an empty room.

Breathing hard, Ichiru slammed the door shut and began murmuring a soft incantation under his breath. A moment or so later, its polished wood surface hummed with a faint energy, detectable to their hunter senses.

"Ichiru…"

"That will keep either out," Ichiru told his brother, resting his palm on the door to catch his breath, "hunters and vampires."

"Ichiru, I chose the wrong room," Zero finished, his voice low and tense.

Ichiru whipped his head around, his eyes locking on what his brother had already been staring at. "No, you think?" the younger of the two questioned wearily.

They were in a sitting room and that was fair enough, with its sparse collection of furniture that even looked comfortable to some extent. It had looked completely empty at first glance but now they both saw they were not alone.

The woman stood motionlessly in one corner by the mantle, her lines of her dark clothing obscured by the shadows filling the room. She looked like a shadow herself actually, easily overlooked in her motionless grace. A hat and a black veil covered her head, the gossamer fabric parted slightly so that only the lower half of her face was visible. The collar of her long coat was black, and her pants- visible through the slits on either side of her coat- were as well.

"I think Okaa-san is a vampire too," Zero murmured, pushing Ichiru behind him.

"I think that isn't Okaa-san," Ichiru said with wonder in his voice.

"What?" the elder twin asked sharply, his voice tense. "That's her battle gear…"

"Okaa-san…never _really _looked like a shadow, did she?" the younger asked softly. A grin broke out on his face. "No, no, that's not her!" he said with certainty and growing excitement. "That has to be the pureblood that turned Otou-san into a thrall! Ne, Junketsu Onee-san! Thank you for killing that witch!"

"Don't talk to her!" Zero exclaimed. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Don't you get it? She'll kill us too!"

"So?" Ichiru scoffed.

"Ara," the shadow in the corner said with a soft voice like velvet, "you are not what I was expecting. I fear your father may truly be a useless individual if he cannot restrain two, half-starved children." She took a step forward, her movement as fluid as black water and her booted foot making no sound on the carpeted floor. "But there is more to you than it would seem…isn't that right?"

"We're pretty ordinary," Ichiru denied cheerfully.

Zero elbowed him. "Shut up," he hissed, then addressed the vampire. "Ah, like he said, thanks for killing our mother. We're not really hunters- in fact, we've been locked in a dark room most of our lives."

"Is that so?" the living shadow questioned, amusement lacing her voice. "Is it not a fascinating coincidence that I can say the exact same thing?" "About not really being a hunter or being locked in a dark room?" Ichiru questioned lightly.

"Cut that out," Zero growled.

"Both," the vampire answered with a fanged grin, just visible beneath her veil.

"Ah, right," the elder twin muttered. "Anyway, I'm glad we're similar and all- my point was, we have nothing to do with our mother and if you could let us go, that would be great."

"I don't think she is going to do that," Ichiru said, casually resting his chin on his brother's shoulder.

The pureblood laughed, the rich sound dulcet and chilling. "Sou, ne? Why on earth would I let such gifted children slip through my fingers?" She reached up with one slender hand and pulled the veil from her head. Silver hair cascaded down from the hat to fall in long locks to her waist. Her eyes were the color of cherry blossoms. She was inhumanly beautiful- but there were tearstains on her face and her smile was cruel.

"My name is Hiou Shizuka," she introduced herself, "and I did not kill your mother." She raised one gloved finger to point at Ichiru. "You did."


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One: The World is Ugly

The cursed twins of hunters were skinny, lanky and tall, their faded clothes hanging off of their frames. Circles hung under their amethyst eyes, messy silver locks of hair falling across their faces. Their skin was pale- as though they had never seen the sunlight. They were fallen creatures, beaten creatures but their eyes were afire.

Shizuka loved them instantly.

Zero, the elder one, watched her warily, his weak body tensed with all the mad power of a starved mountain cat. He stood before his brother protectively, his intense eyes promising murder if she so much as dared to lay a finger on his twin. His forceful glare made her feel like she was the only thing in the world, and his hate for her the only thing in his heart. What a rare thing!

Ichiru, the younger one, stared at her in fascination and barely contained delight; he watched her as though she was a saving angel or terms more suited to the circumstances, the murder weapon that had saved him from his tormentor. Despite that subtle shine in his eyes, his posture was casual, resigned; he _expected _to be killed by her. And he did not care at all.

He met her gaze with a small smile, acknowledging her words which yet hung in the air.

"If Okaa-san died because her protective wards were unstable and on the point of collapse," he admitted readily, "then that is close enough to the truth. It was fair fortune for both of us that we shared a similar motive."

"Sou, ne?" Shizuka murmured, a soft smile curving on her lips. The younger twin was also a rare thing, indeed; there was a bitterness about him but also a certain insight. "And how is it you cast such a spell as that which destroyed Saika's wards, Ichiru?"

She used his name freely, familiarly; she had stolen the Shadow's skin, the Shadow's life and all the Shadow's possessions. The twins were already hers.

"I invented it," he explained, his brow furrowing slightly, "from the old language."

Invented? Was such a thing even possible? Shizuka evaluated him again but he did not look any less frail and helpless than he had before. With this boy's assistance, she had killed a hunter of legend effortlessly.

A thought hit her abruptly, prompting her to speak. "How long?" she asked sharply. "How long did it take you to destroy her wards?"

He blinked. "No longer than any other spell," he answered. "Two minutes to cast- though it took longer to invent it."

She was silent for a moment in revelation. Two minutes? He only had to be in a person's presence two minutes and he could make instable a ward that was nearly permanent? A thrill of greed ran through her, the power of it lighting her eyes; she took an unconscious step toward him. With this boy, what wonders would she be able to accomplish? If he could do this to _hunters_, his own kind…what would he be able to do to her pureblood enemies? And her loathsome fiancé?

Alarmed by her movements, Zero took a step back, forcing his brother with him. "What do you intend to do with us, Hiou Shizuka?" he asked, again with that wrathfully panicked manner of a wounded beast.

She shook away her cheery thoughts of murder and attempted a reassuring smile- which would of course, be much more reassuring if she did not have fangs. "Feed you," she decided mildly. It was a rare kindness from her but she wished to get them on her side quickly- at least until she had them safely and inescapably under her control. "If you both go mad from hunger and attack the nearest organic thing, I would hate to have to kill you in my own self defense."

"We aren't vampires," Zero told her, his guarded eyes lightening slightly at her words.

"And the idea of eating such a beautiful person is unthinkable," Ichiru added. "You're the first person we've ever seen besides our parents, Hiou-sama."

"Sou, ka?" was all she said, striding calmly over to the warded door they stood by. Zero quickly dragged Ichiru to the side to let her by- and keep plenty of space between them. Of course, she could cross that space faster than he could blink but she was not about to emphasize that point.

Her eyes trailed over the door, her brow furrowing. The light thrum of magic on her senses alerted her to the presence of Ichiru's ward, initially cast to keep her thrall from following them. It was a subtle spell, masterfully woven together like a legitimate hunter charm. It was fairly low level, however- perfectly useful in driving back worthless level E's and D's but useless against a pureblood. She flashed a sweet smile at Ichiru, spoke a soft word and shattered the ward with a mere touch of her mind.

Then she walked through the door, leaving them to follow her.

"Akihiro," she said softly, once in the hallway. "Come here." Immediately, her servant was by her side, his head bowed. She noted with amusement that one of his hands was blackened and burnt- and the identity of the culprit was not difficult to discern.

"You failed to bring them to me," she informed him impassively, staring into his vacant eyes. "With your hunter abilities, can't you do even that much?" He stared at her blankly; she backhanded him across the face, the power in the careless swing of her arm so strong that it knocked him into the wall. A crimson welt appeared on his cheek, the dark bruise forming instantly.

Ichiru and Zero were watching her- Zero with tension, Ichiru with delighted fascination. Then again, she had only really hit the mindless thrall to raise herself in the eyes of the younger twin; his loathing resentment towards his parents could rival hers. She had plenty of useless spite herself for the man- enough to hit him, certainly and enough to last forever.

"You have something to feed them with, don't you?" she questioned her thrall as he mechanically straightened himself. He nodded. "Show me," she ordered, beckoning the twins after her as her thrall lead the way. "Ah, there is no more ironic end for a hunter than this," she mused as she strolled down the hall. "I can't wait until he experiences his first blood lust. Shall I wake him from this mindless state so we might watch him suffer it?"

"You hate them too," Ichiru said quietly and she felt his clear eyes on her back. "Okaa-san and Otou-san…why?" "Your mother murdered someone precious to me," she answered, her voice coming out dead-sounding.

"I'm sorry," he told her and he sounded very sincere.

She smiled wearily to herself. What a cute young boy. "How old are the two of you?" she questioned absently, turning a corner as she followed Akihiro; it was quite a large mansion Saika had lived in.

"We're ten," Zero answered. "Our parents locked us up when we were two years old. We can't even remember going outside."

"I see," she said.

From what she had noticed, the large house had a fairly modern and functional décor despite the older style of the architecture. Each piece of furniture was bland and practical and only parts of the mansion were in use. From the outside, the house and the estate seemed abandoned, the lawn overgrown and the windows shuttered. There were sakura trees however- and that was enough in Shizuka's eyes to make it an ideal location.

Once she had escorted the children safely to a large dining room, she ordered Akihiro off to cook them something. They looked about ready to die of malnutrition anyway and the repeated mentions of sustenance had their amethyst eyes bright with painful anticipation. Zero kept looking about the large room in half-wary fascination. His gaze trailed over the polished wood table in the center of the floor space, its long surface shining in the light of the moon. Five tall windows lined the far wall, not facing the road and open to the view of sakura trees blooming outside. The night sky held a thousand glittering stars.

Ichiru kept his eyes on Shizuka as if he never wanted to look away.

In truth, the pureblood had other, more pressing things to do in the house. She had yet to go through all of the rooms, drill Akihiro for information and attain a reasonable comprehension of what the Association would require of her in the near future. She wanted to remain watching these two, enchanting creatures she had just acquired but it would have to wait.

When Akihiro returned with their dinner- generous bowls of steamed rice, grilled fish and vegetables- she gestured for her thrall to follow her and left them in peace. Outside, not trusting a pair of young boys to refrain from mischief, she enclosed a strong ward on the room to keep them from leaving it.

"Show me where Saika's room is," she ordered softly; he bowed deeply, then turned and lead her down the hall. "Ne, you were going to file a report to the Association earlier," she reminded him. "I still want you to do that- of course, you will leave out anything not related to the mission. Until I have become accustomed to this role, you must inform me of all my daily responsibilities and fulfill your role as my assistant."

"I understand, Hiou-sama," he intoned. He lead her up a set of stairs, stopping outside a wooden door at the end of a hall. "This is the room I shared with Saika," he informed her hollowly.

"Wait out here," she ordered absently, opening the door.

The room was sparse, the double bed in its center plain white. There were windows on either side of the bed but they were shuttered, blocking out the sun. There was a dresser in one corner, a mirror and two doors. One led to a clean and well-maintained bathroom; the other was a closet.

"Is there anything in this house I should be aware of?" Shizuka asked her thrall, opening a dresser and rifling through it with distant interest. There were various odds and ends inside- several anti-vampire knives, a set of tools for sharpening blades, handkerchiefs. Beneath it all, she found an old photo of Saika solemnly holding one silver haired infant; on the back, Zero's name was written.

There were clothes in the other drawers- and more in the closet for both of the adult Kiryuus. Saika seemed to have preferred long sleeved shirts and jeans. Shizuka ran her hands over the material impassively, suddenly longing to change out of the Shadow's loathsome battle garb. The thought of wearing even Saika's casual clothes brought a bitter smile to her lips; it felt like self-destruction as well as the ultimate, mocking irony. With strange feeling twisting her mouth, she slipped into a pair of dark-hued jeans and a gray green shirt that hugged her figure. The battle clothes she folded and placed on the bed.

In the mirror, she found herself to be not nearly the same horrific creature as before. The shadow façade cast away, she once again could recognize her face- the feeling of displacement had not dissipated however. Without her kimono, she looked like a person from a different time, the time she now inhabited. Her eyes were too old for her clothes and far too weary.

Shizuka shook her head, brushing her unbound, silver hair over one shoulder. Akihiro still stood in the hall where she had left him. "Where is the office?" she murmured.

The tour continued and she ultimately spent three or so hours acquainting herself with the house. The Shadow's correspondence with the Association, as it turned out, was largely done through email and over the phone. Akihiro had a cellphone and for typing out reports, there was a high functioning laptop- a curious and alien device that took much of Shizuka's time to figure out. When she had finally acquired a fair sense of her new situation, she returned to the dining room.

There was a surprise awaiting her however.

The powerful ward she had left behind was riddled with holes- about ready to collapse, in fact, were it not for one key strand of her spell that kept it shakily together. The main structure of the ward itself was covered in scars as though its attacker had tried many different approaches to breaking it before finally discovering an effective strategy. Shizuka could hear the twins inside, their breathing, the sounds of them moving about- but she still paused for a moment in perturbed shock before opening the door.

Ichiru smiled innocently at her as she entered the room, his plate completely cleaned of food and his eyes bright. Zero frowned at her from where he stood by the window and said nothing.

"Welcome back, Hiou-sama," the younger twin greeted her.

"Thank you, Ichiru," she murmured in reply, her eyes on him. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yes," he answered at once. "The food was delicious."

"And the ward?" she prompted softly.

"What ward?" he blinked.

"_She noticed, idiot_," Zero said to his brother- and to Shizuka's interest, in English.

Ichiru spared his brother a tense glance before looking back to the pureblood questioningly.

"I am very impressed," Shizuka informed the younger twin with a smile. "Were you trying to escape?"

Chagrin flitted across his face but he still met her gaze bravely. "I wasn't," he denied. "Gomenasai. I couldn't resist trying to see if I could break it- and I couldn't in the end."

"You very nearly did," she stated. "What stopped you?"

"The core phrase," he answered at once. "I couldn't think of an appropriate counter term in the hunter language for it."

"There isn't a counter term," she explained expressionlessly. "The core phrase was 'behold my possession', the possession being that which is held within the ward. To counter it, you would also have to use an attack of 'behold my possession', but this time the possession would be freedom."

Ichiru stared at her as if the words were the most important thing he had ever heard. Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "It turns the same words into an antonym of the original phrase thus negating it."

"That's amazing," Ichiru told her, riveted.

"_You get what she's talking about?_" Zero said, walking up to where his brother sat at the table.

"_Wards work two ways_," the younger muttered. "_The vampires have one side and hunters have the other- to counter a vampire ward, you have to find a phrase in the old language of hunters that has the opposite meaning. Most of the time, every ward has its own counter- or even multiple counters if it's basic. I like to take it piece by piece though."_

Shizuka laughed pityingly under her breath. Their accent was horrible. She doubted they had ever even heard English spoken before. She also doubted that her 'possible' knowledge of the language would occur to them. They spoke quickly and in hushed voices- as if it were a secret language between only themselves. Well, it was nothing more than their secrets being spoken directly before her ears as long as they didn't realize.

Ichiru turned back to her, noticing something. "You're wearing Okaa-san's clothes, Hiou-sama?"

"Sou," she affirmed simply, studying his expression.

He looked down. "You look nice," he told her honestly. "You are prettier than she was ."

"_And your teeth are sharper than hers were,_" Zero added darkly.

Ichiru stood, smacking his brother upside the head and promptly using Zero as an arm rest.

"Why, thank you," said Shizuka graciously, grinning a sharp-fanged smile. The twins were amusing her more and more; she had to cover her smile after a moment with the back of her hand. It was the only way to avoid laughing. What pleased her was that they seemed as socially inexperienced as she was. What pleased her more was the hilarious words they uttered without even realizing how adorable they were.

They fell asleep an hour later, comfortably tucked into a bed Akihiro prepared for them. Zero's wary eyes remained open at least thirty minutes longer than his brother's but he eventually could not outlast his exhaustion. Shizuka was also tired- dead tired because the moment she stopped staring at their faces, she would remember the endless void of grief that awaited her. Her hands trembled a little in the light of the rising sun.

She waited patiently, killing hours by reading all the books around the house and watching Akihiro demonstrate his fighting style. If she was to impersonate the Shadow, she would have to move like a fighter. Even if she did not need the knowledge to kill, she needed it to deceive. What she could not glean by observation, she drained from her thrall's blood. His memories displayed hundreds of movements, his and Saika's both as they struggled against forests of claws and fangs.

Then, as the morning claimed its place firmly in the winter sky, Shizuka returned to the twins' bedside. Zero's arm was curled tightly around his twin's waist, Ichiru's head resting against his shoulder. Silently, she placed a hand on the younger twin's face, easing him awake.

He blinked his eyes open in panic for a moment; then his gaze focused on her and he relaxed, prying Zero's arm off of him as he sat up.

"Hiou-sama?" he breathed out questioningly.

"Come with me," she told him quietly, turning with those words to leave the room.

He hastened to obey, moving like a wraith with his skinny frame to follow her. In the upstairs hall, she offered him a small smile and lead him wordlessly to a sitting room not far off. He did not question her- nor did he protest at leaving behind his brother. There was not even a trace of fear on his face.

"What can you do, Ichiru?" Shizuka asked him thoughtfully, staring into his eyes. "I have never met another person able to invent spells; I have never been able to do it myself. Can I use you?" She did not really request an answer from him; he replied any way, his expression lost.

"I've always been useless," he told her.

"You made killing a powerful foe effortless," she commented. "You nearly broke a ward of mine- I, a pureblood vampire." She paused, listening to the silence of the room. "Your body is weak," she stated.

"In the womb," Ichiru said, his gaze falling to the floor, "Zero took half of my strength."

Shizuka noted the bitterness in his words and smiled. "Is that so?" She took a hold of his chin, turning his head towards her. "Assist me, Ichiru," she requested lowly. "I want your mind."

"But I'm…" he faltered. There were so many emotions on his face- lingering disbelief that his life had changed so drastically, overwhelmed disorientation, hatred, bitterness, fascination, delight.

"Say yes," she said and it was an order this time.

"Yes," he acquiesced at once, the hesitation disappearing from his expression.

She smiled, threading her fingers through his hair. This boy was a treasure; he would give her what she wanted. "Then I will give you power," she soothed, raising her other hand to her lips and swiftly piercing her wrist with one fang. She extended her torn flesh. "Drink," she commanded quietly.

His eyes widened, uncertainly briefly crossing his features. He swallowed his apprehension however, carefully bending his head to her wrist. Her blood touched his lips, slipping down his throat in the tiniest amount and through its power, obliterating the frailty in him.

o0O0o

_~Eight Years Later~_

"Oh, my gosh!" breathed the willowy girl with long, black hair and wide eyes. She stood just at the end of the aisle, clinging to the arm of her light-haired friend and trying to be inconspicuous. The book store was quiet, however, and her voice carried easily. It was easy to hear her talking and even easier to see who she was staring at.

"What? What is it, Akane?" the other girl asked, tilting her head to one side. She seemed less shy than the other, her posture straight and her expression concerned. When Akane pointed to the object of her interest however, the blond immediately became wide-eyed also.

"Sugoi…" she gasped, covering her mouth with one hand. "He's…"

"So cool," Akane finished, her eyes starry. "I didn't know we had a guy like that living in our town! Do you think he's a foreigner who just moved here, Emi-chan?"

"Must be," Emi agreed, a slight flush on her cheeks, "with that silver hair. Though he looks Japanese." "Sou, ne- Kya! He's looking over at us!"

Ichiru glanced up from the book he was reading to study the two girls. They were teenagers, maybe a few years younger than he was and fairly cute also. Akane wore a trendy top and a short skirt, a pair of glasses perched on her nose. There was a flower clip in her silky black hair and her long socks were bunched at the ankles. Emi also wore a skirt, a red, long sleeved shirt and a headband in her blond hair. They both looked healthy, he noted impassively.

He closed his eyes for a moment and smiled, replacing his book on the shelf and approaching them. He added a bit of polite uncertainty to his expression and met their gaze intently.

"Sumimasen," he said, gaining their utmost attention, "do either of you know how to cook?"

"He's talking to us," Akane whispered, clinging to Emi now, "what should we do, Emi-chan?"

"That we do," Emi replied to Ichiru, ignoring her blushing companion, "Akane takes care of all her family's housework and I cook for my little brother. Why? Is something the matter?"

Ichiru looked away awkwardly, seeming uncomfortable. "The truth is…I came to this store to find a simple cookbook but all of them look so hard. You see, my elder sister who has always taken care of me, is sick today and I want to make her dinner. Ever since my parents died…she's looked after me. I want to make it up to her…" He let out a low breath, a depressed expression on his face. "I can't seem to figure out even the simplest thing, however." They stared at him in awe, sympathy in their eyes.

"Poor thing…" Akane murmured, wrapped shyly around Emi's arm. "You must really love your sister to try so hard for her."

He nodded miserably, bowing his head.

"Ah-" Emi exclaimed suddenly. "You know, we could teach you if you wanted- how to cook, that is."

He met her gaze with surprise. "Really? You could really do that?"

"Of course," she assured him, her eyes shining with excitement- and probably hormones as well. "I am Amori Emi- and she's Kagawa Akane. Treat us kindly."

"It's a relief to meet you," Ichiru told her with a small smile. "I am Kiryuu Ichiru, Amori-san, Kagawa-san."

"Oh, you don't have to…" Akane began timidly.

"You can call us by our first names," Emi finished for her brightly, "Ichiru-kun."

"I would be delighted," Ichiru replied. They were rather forward, weren't they? "Then…shall we go shopping together? I'm not sure what I'll need to cook with…"

"Of course we'll go!" the blond said immediately. She bravely took him by the hand, absently keeping Akane away from his other side and pulled him out of the shop.

It was early winter, a thin layer of frost clinging to the street and the roofs of buildings. The small, little town was a quiet place, couples strolling hand in hand along the side walks and cars occasionally rumbling down the streets. Ichiru glanced up at the gray sky; feeble rays of late afternoon sunlight struggled to escape the smothering blanket of clouds. He expelled an inaudible laugh, his breath steaming in the crisp air.

"Since it's his first time cooking," Emi told Akane at the supermarket, "we should make something simple."

"Yakisoba?" was the brunette's suggestion.

"Onee-san loves Yakisoba," Ichiru supplied meticulously and it was decided.

They bought cabbage, onions, long carrots and soba noodles, Emi remarking that nothing would spoil in the cold weather as they added uncooked slices of chicken to their purchases. Ichiru paid for the groceries with a wad of cash from his pocket and insisted on carrying everything. In the end, they decided to cook at Ichiru's house so his Onee-san would not have to wait.

"So you live outside of town?" Emi asked curiously as they walked along the dirt road through groves of slender trees. The gravel beneath their feet crunched with each step and Akane shivered in her short sleeves.

"It's not too far away," Ichiru assured them warmly, slipping out of his jacket and absently draping it over the brunette's shoulders. He noticed Emi shoot her friend a dark look. "We don't have to hurry however," he added softly. "My twin brother is looking after Onee-san while she sleeps."

"Twin brother?" Emi blinked while Akane pulled the jacket closer around her with a blush on her cheeks.

"Sou desu," the eldest teen affirmed lightly. "We're identical twins- silver hair and everything."

"That's amazing," Akane commented, her eyes on him as they walked.

"So he's tall and silver-haired too…" Emi mused thoughtfully. Her subtle antagonism towards Akane vanished with that.

There was a bit of a hassle when they arrived at 'Ichiru's house', however.

"It's the haunted mansion!" Akane burst out, her eyes wide; Ichiru paused in his task of opening the wrought iron gate.

"Haunted?" he asked in surprise. "It's not. Onee-san, my brother and I have all lived here since our parents died." He glanced at the overgrown front lawn. "Er, we're not much for gardening…"

"But…they say people disappear here," the dark-haired girl squeaked out, hiding behind Emi again. "And why do the sakura trees around this house never stop blooming?"

"Oh…?" Ichiru tiled his head to one side, his eyes trailing over the pink blossoms of the ever blooming sakura around the mansion. "I'm not sure about the sakura trees. I assure you, everything else is just rumors however. Only my family lives in this place. Don't worry; it's much nicer inside."

They were somewhat mollified at that point and he lead them onto the estate, closing the gate behind them. A current of frigid wind stirred the air, carrying the fragrance of cherry blossoms. The cobblestone path that lead up to the front door was slippery; several times Emi and Akane had to catch Ichiru's shoulder for support. He doubted the absolute necessity of their actions; while Akane's near fall had _probably _been genuine, Emi's was surely staged in order to not be beat by her companion. He said nothing of it and left them to their antics.

On the front door step, he softly murmured a string of words to open a hole in the wards around the house. He opened the door for them, smiling innocently as they stepped inside. They looked around the cleanly furnished hallway with interest.

"Tadaima," he called as he entered after them.

"Okaeri," was sleepy Zero's reply from somewhere in the house. Ichiru guessed that his brother had been napping. "You're home already? Could you not find the book or something?"

"I found something better," Ichiru called back, exaggerating the cheer in his voice for effect. "Come see, Zero." He shut the front door, securely locking the wards behind him.

A few moments later, Zero strolled around the hallway corner, a book one hand and his silver hair in disarray.

"Yare, yare, Zero," Ichiru chided as he placed the groceries on the hallway table, "couldn't you have combed your hair?"

Zero looked up at him, his eyes widening at the sight of Akane and Emi. "Ichiru…" he breathed, his eyes suddenly narrowing in anger. "What are they doing here?"

"They offered to come cook for Onee-san since she's sick," the younger twin explained warmly.

"I hope you don't mind," Akane said shyly, pulling Ichiru's jacket more tightly around her willowy frame.

Zero glared at his brother. "Why them?" he asked coldly. "They're just a pair of girls. Why not someone else?"

"Because they offered to come!" Ichiru said, his eyes wide. "And besides, they're cute." Both girls blushed at this but neither looked unhappy for it.

"We really won't cause any trouble," Emi assured the elder twin, then turned to Ichiru. "Why is he so mad?" she whispered.

"He's just angry that I'm giving you to 'Onee-san' for dinner," Ichiru explained reasonably.

"Oh," she said. Then she said, "What?!"

"What, indeed," he agreed, but his hands were already on their foreheads, palms glowing faintly in the dim light. He murmured something inaudible under his breath and both slipped to the floor unconscious. "Look, Zero," he instructed his brother, "they've both spontaneously fainted! I guess we'll have to let them stay the night."

"_Damn _it, Ichiru!" Zero snapped, stalking over to his brother and taking hold of his collar. His amethyst eyes flashed darkly in the dim light. "There's an entire town out there and plenty of scumbags in it! Why pick a pair of innocent girls who've never done anything bad their entire lives?"

"Sou, ne?" Ichiru shrugged, ignoring his brother's furious reaction. "The only bad thing they did was believe me- but then, isn't it their fault for being gullible?"

"Not at all," Zero disagreed coldly.

"I don't care," Ichiru shrugged off, "Shizuka-sama doesn't like the trash _you _always bring home. _I_ certainly won't force her to drink the blood of some lowlife. Or are you saying we should just order a pizza? _We _can eat the pizza and _she _can eat the delivery guy and no one has to pay for it." He blinked, a thoughtful look on his face. "Wait…that's actually a good idea-"

"You're mad," the elder twin muttered, shoving his brother against the wall and turning away.

"But you obviously don't hate me for it," Ichiru murmured quietly, straightening and closing the distance between them. He threw his arms around Zero's shoulders, hugging his brother tightly from behind. "Or else you would not accept my actions so easily."

Zero stared at the floor for a moment, then let out a short breath. "Lure anyone you want to their deaths," he muttered shortly. "I don't care. Kill them- kill anyone. Even if you end up just like _her_, wanting to destroy the entire world- I don't care. …I only care about you."

Ichiru let his forehead fall against Zero's back. "I'm glad, Zero," he said quietly, closing his eyes. The words were utterly sincere too; it surprised him every day that Zero could put up with his darkness. He felt a shifting in the wards and turned in surprise. "She's home," he realized. "Quick- help me get the girls out of the doorway."

They picked up the girls and seated them neatly in the living room, returning to the hallway just as the front door opened. A tall woman with long silver hair slipped into the house, followed closely by their father. She was wearing casual clothes- jeans, sneakers and a form-fitting long sleeved shirt. The had originally been Saika's clothes, down to even the shoes. She would wear nothing else. Their father wore a t-shirt a jeans and the same perpetually blank expression as always.

Without a doubt, they had been wearing battle armor before but as per usual, they changed at a house in town lest they be seen in the strange apparel. The mansion and even their daily lives were surrounded by safety measures.

"Tadaima," Shizuka announced, a small smile on her lips as her eyes fell on the twins.

"Okaerinasai, Shizuka-sama," Ichiru greeted. "How was work?" She smiled happily, her cherry blossoms eyes sparkling. "The world is on the brink of destruction; I can't imagine it will be more than a year before humans become aware of the war. Death and suffering will follow and after that, we have only to watch."

"That's wonderful," Ichiru commented sincerely.

Zero let out a sigh, turning away from the people he had apparently judged as mad and walking down the hall.

"Wait, Zero!" Ichiru called, snatching up the groceries from the hallway table. "I want to make yakisoba for dinner." He hurried after his brother, the plastic bags rustling in his grip.

Shizuka laughed, shook her loose silver hair over one shoulder and left Akihiro to stand stupidly in the doorway as she followed the twins.

"So make it," Zero told Ichiru in reply, letting the younger Kiryuu drag him into the kitchen regardless. It was not a strange suggestion; both twins were highly skilled in the kitchen, having cooked for themselves eight years after Shizuka's arrival. It was a little touch of irony, considering the alibi Ichiru had recently hashed together. Then again, a good cook like Ichiru knew how excellent a dash of irony could taste if used as seasoning.

"I want you to make it with me," the younger twin explained to his brother, setting the groceries on the counter and banging around for a pan.

"Nn," the elder gave in indifferently, methodically unloading the groceries from the bags.

"Ne, Ichiru," Shizuka said curiously, peering into the kitchen from around the corner, "are those adorable children in the living room for me?"

"They're for the _other _pureblood vampire who lives here," Zero corrected her without turning around.

Ichiru absently reached out to smack his brother upside the head. "I found them in a bookstore and we were all quite taken with each other," he explained, flashing Shizuka a smile over his shoulder. "Zero and I haven't brought anyone home in a few days either, so…"

"Dear boy," the pureblood commended fondly and disappeared again- probably to sate her thirst and who knew what else.

"Don't be so obvious," Zero reprimanded his brother under his breath. He set about dicing the vegetables, his movements quick and practiced.

Ichiru sobered, his eyes cold when he glanced at the other. "I don't know what you mean."

"Then I shouldn't have to say it."

Shizuka joined them for dinner though she did not touch their food. The sun had set and the tall, dining room windows showed only darkness. The warm over head light shown brightly on the polished, wood table, the rich surface seeming to absorb the glow for its own. The room was pleasant and most of their 'family' talks occurred there. The atmosphere was good; these three people had lived together for eight years. Thinking about it, Ichiru almost did not regret his childhood.

"Why are you so quiet?" Zero asked, elbowing his brother lightly.

Ichiru swallowed a bite of richly sweet onions and carrots. "Just reveling in how wonderful it is to be fed regularly."

"After eight years?" Shizuka queried with interest, her elbow on the table and her head resting on her palm. Silver locks of her hair spilled onto the wood.

"It took a while to sink in," Ichiru shrugged.

She let out a breath of laughter, her eyes trailing over his face and then Zero's. "You both are not children anymore." She was silent for a moment more, then added, "I've given you long enough to grow up."

"What do you mean?" Zero questioned at once, setting down his chopsticks. His eyes were wary.

She smiled, closing her eyes. "I mean I have been leaving you to your own devices and haven't done anything with you all these years- but the truth is, you are both exquisite tools for me to exploit."

"Wonderful," he replied and despite his impassive tone, both Shizuka and Ichiru caught the sarcasm, "here I was terrified we were useless to you."

She just continued to smile, completely content with the situation. Ichiru continued to contemplate his yakisoba as though it were much more interesting. Zero shot him a suspicious look.

"You don't seem surprised," he commented.

"No? Sorry," Ichiru apologized. He widened his eyes and stared at Shizuka in stunned shock for a moment. Then he dropped the face and turned to his brother. "Is that better?"

"What have you been doing behind my back?" Zero questioned, ignoring the jab.

"Shizuka-sama," the younger sighed lightly, catching a carefully simmered piece of chicken in his chopsticks and holding it up to speculate over. "Zero is forming all sorts of unfounded accusations against me. Whatever do you think has gotten into him?"

"Saa," she murmured noncommittally and they looked like quite the pair of accomplices with the same nonchalant expressions. Zero glared at her and she flashed him a wicked smile when Ichiru wasn't looking. After a long moment of silence, she finally concluded the inquiry with, "Zero, some things just can't be helped."

"Thanks," said Zero, "I'll remember that." She smiled warmly, again ignoring his acidic tone and stood. The bell tied about her delicate wrist rang lightly with the movement. "I'm taking the both of you to work with me tomorrow," she announced.

"The Hunter Association?" Ichiru asked in surprise.

"Sou yo," she affirmed. Leisurely, she strolled to the far wall to gaze out the window. The moon had risen, its phantom presence nearly invisible in its crescent shape. "You will play different roles," she murmured. "The twins of hunters are a rare treasure- and a rare secret for me to keep. Zero, you are to reveal yourself to them as an only child and enter their service." She glanced over her shoulder at the elder twin, her eyes piercing into his. "I will make it known that we are acquainted and that I have high expectations for you. Your goal is to attain as much standing within the Association as you can." She turned her eyes again to the darkness. "The Shadow is not strictly under the Association's employ so my influence there is only as powerful as the popular opinion of me."

"This seems like a long-term plan," Zero observed.

"Oh, not that long-term," Shizuka dismissed.

"And how shall I be of service, Shizuka-sama?" Ichiru prompted.

"You're to be my assistant," she said softly.

"What?" the elder twin exclaimed. "That's too dangerous- besides- you still have Otou-san." "Ichiru is tall enough now to take his place," the pureblood informed him, moving to stand between them with a hand on each of their shoulders. "If 'having' your father is a problem, then all we really need to do is get rid of him, ne?"

"Ha, finally," Ichiru grinned to himself.

"If Ichiru is your assistant, Shizuka-sama," Zero said coldly, "then you mean to take him on missions- and to _battlefields_?"

"Sou," she affirmed, studying his expression unperturbed.

"It should be me," he decided shortly.

"Oh?" Ichiru scoffed.

"Why is that?" Shizuka questioned curiously.

"I'm a better fighter," Zero justified and Ichiru rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you are a better fighter, Zero," the pureblood murmured, "such a prodigiously skilled fighter that you will quickly impress the Association and ascend through their ranks. Ichiru is also a good fighter but his real talent is more subtle than that." Her eyes glinted in the overhead's yellow light. "He can invent spells."

"Small ones," the elder twin brushed off, "nothing you can use him for." Before she could reply further, he stood up. "Leave him out of this. Or let him come to the Association with me. I don't want his only protection to be _you_."

She laughed. "How rude!" she said and despite her words, she looked quite delighted by his reaction.

"It has nothing to do with you, Zero," Ichiru murmured.

"It has everything to do with me-" Zero began but Shizuka cut him off, placing a finger on his lips.

"My plan will put each of you in the role you can fulfill the best," she explained, glancing at Ichiru with a smile. "Ichiru would be useless at gaining the Association's attention because his fighting skills are no better than 'good'. Zero would be useless at assisting me because he cannot manipulate wards of magic." She exploited the word 'useless' to the fullest extent and both twins noticed. "More ever, Zero, your personality is wrong. My assistant is my voice and _your _voice has absolutely no diplomacy."

"That's how it is," Ichiru agreed, finishing his dinner unperturbed.

Zero let out an angry breath and stalked off, leaving his twin to clean up his plate. Shizuka again took her seat across the table, looking quite pleased with herself. The genuine and happy smile on her lips was a beautiful thing but its timing and reason made it ironic.

"You're an awful person," the younger twin told her contemplatively.

"You too," she said with no more malice than he had.

He laughed the words off. "He still has not realized you see us as nothing more than toys."

"Toys and tools and friends," the pureblood elaborated, staring up at the ceiling.

"Friends?"

"That's what I said, is it not?" she recalled, her eyes flitting coldly to his face.

"I'm glad then," he scoffed.

"Put those plates away and come with me," she instructed, rising and pacing gracefully from the room.

Wordlessly, he obeyed, stacking the plates in the kitchen to clean later and following her to the living room. Emi still slept on the one of the sofas, her head lolling over one arm and her breathing steady. Ichiru blinked, surprised to see her still alive.

"You didn't kill them?" he questioned, looking about for Akane.

"I killed _one _of them," Shizuka answered, widening her eyes innocently. She walked over to Emi, placing a hand in the girl's blond hair. "A cute child…I fancied the other one more though." Then she said, "Akihiro, come here." From the hallway, the expressionless thrall entered the room and stopped a few paces away from Shizuka.

"Ichiru," she continued, her tone not changing, "kill him now." The silver-haired teen glanced at her, then nodded, moving swiftly to take up the katana that hung on the mantle. He slid it from its sheath, grasping it deftly in both hands as he stoically approached his father.

Shizuka smiled- and sliced one sharp fingernail vertically down Emi's throat.

Akihiro's eyes blazed red and he lunged towards the sleeping human girl; in an instant, Ichiru stood in his path, catching the vampire's weight on his blade. The thrall let out at guttural snarl, leaping back with bleeding hands. He stared at his son blankly for a moment, his maddened mind comprehending only the obstacle in his way- not the cold amethyst eyes regarding him nor his opponent's blade. He dashed forward again, swiping out with powerful claws at the teen's head.

Lithely, Ichiru dodged the blow and fluidly reversed his blade to drive its pommel into his father's stomach. Akihiro doubled over; Ichiru raised one booted foot and kicked him in the head. The vampire thrall went sprawling to the floor. He was up again in a heartbeat, only to scream in pain as Ichiru dispassionately hacked off his left arm. The scream, reverberating through the room, was not human at all; it was the mad cry of a beast.

Shizuka had not needed to drive her thrall into a state of maddened thirst; Ichiru did not need to cause the mindless creature any more pain than that of a swift death. It did not matter; both pureblood and hunter teen were cruelly toying with Akihiro- and both had cause enough to loathe him.

Akihiro shrieked again as he stood, blood spraying to the floor from his bloodied stump of a shoulder. His teeth were bared, fangs glinting in the dim light and eyes insane with want. He ignored Ichiru this time, lunging blindly for Emi as though sure he would never taste her blood if he did not exploit his last minute of life. He was inches from her when a sword impaled him from behind, neatly piercing his heart. He froze, slumping forward to hang from his son's blade. He stared blankly at the floor for a moment; then his body fell to ash.

"I'm not a good fighter," Ichiru said into the sudden silence, "I'm a great fighter. Because Zero stole half of my strength, he's even better than great. And because you have been feeding us your blood, Shizuka-sama, we both have the power to become stronger."

"I don't need you for your fighting abilities," Shizuka told him indifferently, "so I don't care either way."

"As long as you need me for something," he murmured.

She brushed a smear of blood from Emi's neck and brought her hand to her mouth, watching him. "I need spells," she told him softly. "Somehow, you can invent them, tweak them and change them to fit your desires. Is it your birth that caused this? Your upbringing? Your mind? Saa…I am uncertain but there is no one else who can. That makes you invaluable."

He looked away; there was something about her half-there smile he did not want to see.

"Ne, isn't a wire a strange weapon for a hunter?" she mused suddenly, unclipping the late Saika's weapon from her belt. "A sword is so much more typical- so much easier. A gun would be even better since it makes up for the speed deficit between hunters and vampires. Why, do you think, your mother fought with a wire?"

He looked back to her, reading her expression, and immediately knew that she already possessed a quite satisfactory answer. Or maybe she had more than one. He let out a quiet sigh. "I don't know," he shrugged. "She liked strangling her prey?"

"Well, there is no need for us to reminisce over her distasteful personality," Shizuka chuckled. Her eyes returned to the wire; her fingers lightly caressed its coils, blue lightening crackling about her ungloved hands. There was a broken but fascinated look in her eyes as she stared at it. "Ah, no…this is truly the perfect weapon to fight vampires- purebloods, most of all. But only if its wielder is remarkably fast. Imagine, twist it endlessly around their bodies until they can't move from it and then to escape the snare, they could only slice themselves to ribbons on its length." She absently strode forward, closer to him and wondered out loud. "Did you save my life all those years ago, Ichiru, with your spell?" Before he could answer, she dismissed the thought. "Perhaps not. This weapon isn't _really _all that strong. Perhaps with the right amount of force, the wire would snap and the anti-vampire properties in the metal would fail to come through."

"What are you getting at?" he asked her.

She met his gaze. "You have a lot of work to do. I want you to strengthen this, if you can. By bringing you and your brother into the war, I am also starting my own plans. A being such as I can wait eight years- so all I have done thus far is perpetuate the lie that I am the Shadow. And now, it is the truth. I need you to become my assistant so that I have someone reliable at my back. Your father's clothes are at the house in town; adjust the wards on them however you wish to suit you. Other than that, I need you to work with spells as much as you possibly can. I want spells that will work against purebloods."

"Even though you are a pureblood, Shizuka-sama?" he asked softly.

"All the better," she murmured, "you can test them on me." She placed the coil of wires in his hands. "See what you can do. You have a tendency of surprising me with your cleverness; if I end up being disappointed, it is your own fault for raising my expectations."

"I will never disappoint you," he said softly. Their hands brushed as he took the coil. "I won't let that happen."

She smiled, fondness in her eyes. "Then it's fine." She turned away, glancing down at Emi on the couch. "Ne, she is cute, isn't she?"

"She is," he agreed without much feeling.

"And she likes you too," the vampire continued thoughtfully.

"She does," he agreed again, his brow furrowing. What now?

"Yet you lured her to her death…" Shizuka absently ran her fingers through Emi's hair. "Why is that, I wonder? If you ask me to, I will spare her life. Instead of bringing me cute girls to eat, why not speak to them…fall in love with them?"

He let out a low breath. "You muse about things too much. Does it even matter why?"

"I'm only curious," she said with a sharp smile. "Is it a secret?"

"It's not a secret," he denied. "The reason is I've just never thought about it."

"How strange." She pulled Emi into an upright position and seated herself beside the girl. One of her arms wrapped around the sleeping girl's waist, drawing her close while her other hand fisted in blond hair. The human girl let out a soft breath, eyebrows pulling together; Shizuka smiled. "How very strange for an eighteen year old boy." Absently, she ran her tongue over Emi's throat; then regarded him.

Her piercing eyes said 'you fool'.

Ichiru shrugged, turned away and pretended not to notice.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two: The Chessboard

It was time to wake up.

Shizuka opened her eyes, sitting up. Pale sheets slid from her body, their smooth fabric brushing against her gray night shirt and loose pants. The clock on the bedside table read 7:00 hours. She stared at it blankly for a moment, allowing the lingering remnants of her dreams to drain from her mind.

The upstairs room was awash with red-tinted shadows, the rising sun just barely managing to squeeze its light through the closed shutters on either side of the bed. The faint hue gleamed on the plain, white walls and mocked the undecorated space with its subtle presence. There was no sound from the room- further within the house, the pureblood could hear the rise and fall of two individuals breathing steadily as they slept. Outside, there was no sound but the gentle whispering of the wind.

She ran her fingers through her hair, the long, silver locks tangled from tossing and turning. A sigh escaped her lips as she stood up; sleep refused to abandon its haze over her mind. She could not so easily drag herself away from its shadows.

Her face in the bathroom mirror was stoic, cherry blossom eyes full of darkness and her hair in disarray. She grinned mockingly at herself, the wild, aggressive smile as ill suited to her as the modern clothes she wore. Her fangs had grown back over night; she took up a metal file beside the sink and set to work grinding them down again. Thin tendrils of blue lightening sparked painfully around her mouth as she wore away her teeth with the hunter-charmed file.

When it was done, she smiled again- a perfectly human smile. It seemed more cruel than before, the harsh twist of her reflection's lips stabbing into her through the glass. She released a low breath and discarded the expression.

She showered after that, washing away the dust here and there that always seemed to cling to her skin. When she dressed, she plucked clothes randomly from Saika's wardrobe. It was a strange perverseness that led her to wear only her deceased enemy's clothes; each thread within the fabric was a chain, shrouding her in hatred, wrapping her in a lust for revenge. Eight years had passed since her most precious person had been destroyed; the grief of that event had never been dealt with and never faced. Shizuka left it there, gaping in the depths of her mind and waiting with more persistence to swallow her every time she pushed it away. All she had was to cling to the Shadow, to Saika, as the hollowed-out, mechanical warrior who pursued her goal. Taking all of Saika's things let her revel in it- and revel she did. In stoic detachment, she was safe from despair.

She had one other refuge, of course. Ready for the day- for 'work', for 'life, as any of the countless humans living through their pointless existences- she left her room and walked silently down the hallway. She listened intently to the steady sound of breathing coming from the twins' room. They had stopped sleeping together three years ago at Ichiru's suggestion but Zero had solved the dilemma by moving another bed into the room. At the threshold, the pureblood vampire paused, glancing over their sleeping forms.

Zero slept on his back, his brow furrowed as he glared into whatever eyes his dreams had brought before him. His silver hair fell across his face, his sheets twisted and crumpled about his body. Despite the signs of restless sleep, he was utterly still but for the rise and fall of his chest.

Ichiru, on the other side of the room, slept on his side, his body slightly curled into itself and his face turned towards the morning light. Through the shuttered window, a single ray struggled into the room to fall on his skin, instilling its pale glow into his silver hair. Shizuka moved to stand beside him, watching him for a moment.

Ichiru and Zero were interesting to live with- and yes, together, they were her other distraction from endless nights of mourning. They bantered back and forth with each other, they bantered back and forth with her and there was always some powerful emotion in them for her to amuse herself over. They belonged to her, like shining silver treasures, two shadow creatures she had dragged into the light and raised. Separated, however- as they were now- she could not look at them as 'Zero and Ichiru'. The elder was the boy she loved to make angry and laugh at in light-hearted mockery. The younger was…

"What are you dreaming of?" she asked quietly, threading her fingers gently through Ichiru's hair. Her words hung for a moment in the silence.

He released a low breath, stirring slightly. He dreamt on, however, oblivious to her presence and to the waking world. How easy would it be for someone to creep into this room and end his life, if he was this vulnerable? Unconsciously, she glanced towards the window, her sharp senses scanning the house for dangers. There were no sounds of intrusion, neither within nor outside on the street. She scoffed at herself, closing her eyes. Was it her new line of work that made her so paranoid?

Shaking away her thoughts, she flicked the boy in the shoulder with one finger. He jerked awake, his eyes blinking open blearily. His senses undoubtedly discovering no presence but hers, he relaxed and let his eyes shut. She flicked him again.

"Wake up," she ordered mildly, "it's morning."

"Hnn…?" Ichiru's brow furrowed. "Can't be."

"I can bodily drag you out of bed to prove it to you," she offered considerately.

"Ah…No need." He opened his eyes, sitting up. He blinked again several times, his eyes focusing on her. "Can we do that to Zero?"

"_You _can, if you want to," she replied indifferently, turning and heading for the door. "Whatever the means, wake him up and get ready; we will leave within three hours and I want the two of you to be fully awake."

"I understand," he said, slipping out of bed even as she left, "and…good morning, Shizuka-sama."

"Good morning, Ichiru," she replied with a moderate smile as she shut the door behind her.

She hummed a melancholy tune under breath as she rifled through papers in the dining room. The windows, as usual, were flung open to allow the morning sun inside. The pale light bathed the room, glinting on the polished wood table and stinging in her eyes. Shizuka paid it no mind, consciously forgetting her vampiric body and admiring the gentle glow. The paper work before her was a stack of faxes from the association- most of them detailing missions and conflict reports for her to accept. The last major collision between vampires and hunters had been several months ago; a noble vampire had attempted to shelter hundreds of his fellows around his compound. The Association had raided it in a surprise attack. She herself had led the forces and personally executed the noble.

It was a good time to move- a good time to introduce the twins to the world. Her popularity was at its peak among the hunters and a praising word from her would send Zero shooting up through the ranks. More ever, vampires were spending more effort hiding from hunters than organizing attacks; her new assistant would not be bombarded with dangerous missions from the start.

As she read, the sounds of the twins getting ready and moving around reached her ears. There was the sound of running water, then the sliding of fabric against skin, a few murmured words in low, morning-hushed voices. They came downstairs not long after, Ichiru flashing her a smile, Zero passing without a word to begin making breakfast in the kitchen. The younger twin sat down at the table across from Shizuka, busily scribbling out the perimeters for a new spell in a notebook. She glanced at the page; the ancient language scrawled across the paper was in the hunters' field, detailing a web of words to enhance the strength of a weapon. She smiled; the boy was certainly prompt.

When the pleasant scent of fish and steamed rice was drifting through the room, a car rolled to a stop on the outside road. Its door opened and shut, the sound of footsteps tapping on the courtyard path up to the mansion's door. The doorbell rang. Immediately, Ichiru stood up, his eyes brightening wickedly.

"Zero!" he called with a grin, "it's _him_! Come to the door with me- I've practiced ages for this!"

"Fine, fine," Zero called back, appearing a moment later to follow his brother to the hall.

Curiously, Shizuka stole after them, her bare feet making no sound on the wooden floor.

Cheerfully, Ichiru opened the front door to reveal a young man in his late twenties with sharp eyes and brown hair. He was dressed in a pale blue police uniform, a darker cap on his head and a badge signifying his rank. His posture was stiff, upright and cautious. He met Ichiru's gaze professionally and opened his mouth to speak.

Ichiru cut him off. "Good morning," said the younger Kiryuu twin dutifully, assuming a lower tone and a powerful expression, "I am Officer Kawatake from the local department. I'm here to ask you about some disappearances that have occurred in this area lately. According to research done, in fact, over one hundred people have gone missing these last eight years. Just recently, two girls by the names of Amori Emi-san and Kagawa Akane-san were spotted in this vicinity and have yet to be heard from since. Perhaps you have seen them?"

Officer Kawatake stared at him blankly for a moment, the words stolen from his mouth. Zero sighed. Shizuka chuckled under her breath. Ichiru smiled expectantly.

"That's what you were going to say," the silver-haired boy prompted, "right?"

"Actually…" the young officer said, his brow furrowed, "over one hundred and _fifty _people have gone missing, not over a hundred."

"_Damn _it!" Ichiru cursed in dismay, "you're right. I messed up."

"May I inquire as to how you knew what I was going to say?" the officer questioned, his expression still wary and tense.

"You mayn't," the younger twin informed him pleasantly. "Now forget all about this and we'll see you next week." Fast as a bullet, he lunged forward, clapping his hand over the officer's forehead. A pale light emanated from his palm.

Kawatake's eyes half closed, his expression becoming vacant. "…Right," he agreed, slumping around to troop off down the path and back to his car.

"Bye," Ichiru waved airily, "have a nice day!" He shut the door.

"You sounded just like him," Shizuka commended the boy, watching as he shook with laughter.

Zero rolled his eyes. "How many times has he come here to investigate disappearances now?"

"I've lost count," Ichiru choked out around his mirth. "Ah, I love that guy. Really. He always says the same thing."

"He doesn't remember that he has said it before," the pureblood pointed out. "You erase his memory every time he comes here, leaving him to file a report at the department that he found nothing of interest; the next time you lure someone in from town, he is back again." "The rest of my day will be wonderful now," Ichiru concluded.

"Idiot," Zero sighed once more, stalking back to the kitchen.

"If you keep amusing me, I will deal with the next police raid of the area for you," the pureblood told the younger twin.

"Ah…that's right," Ichiru blinked in remembrance. "They tend to send those down every few months when they realize how many people are vanishing. In the last one, it took forever to subdue them all and erase their memories." He grinned. "I'll work hard at amusing you then."

Shizuka smiled contentedly to herself as she wandered back to her reports; it was just another, peaceful morning. When the twins were finished with breakfast, she stood. "Let's go."

It was time for work. Zero drove them to the house in town, the interior of the black car silent as its occupants stared off into space. Shizuka had never bothered to learn how to drive; the bizarre contraption with wheels and a motor was not something she wanted to deal with. Both of the twins, however, had found the time to learn and both of them, perhaps following her example somewhat, had not bothered with the troublesome thing called a 'driver's license'. She had nothing to say over the matter; if they were stopped for misdemeanors of any sort, it was more likely that they would rely on memory spells than on small, plastic cards.

In the backseat, Ichiru grew bored of looking out the window and occupied himself with tugging on strands of Zero's hair. The elder twin did not react, apparently unperturbed by his twin's newfound pass time. She watched them fondly out of the corner of her eye.

It was not long before they reached the house, still unchanged from the day Akihiro had first led a pureblood vampire inside, thinking she was his wife. It was the first day that both of the twins' parents were dead; Shizuka found herself retracing her frequent steps to the garage door in good spirits.

Within the house, it was slightly more difficult to upkeep cheerfulness. The Shadow's battle gear felt heavy as always- and if it had been made of solid steel with weight enough to drag a human woman to the ground, it would not feel heavy to Shizuka. There was something so agonizing in covering up her own face, looking into the mirror and seeing a _demon_. She dressed mechanically, ignoring her soul's cringing protests as she surrounded herself in black material. At last, twisting up her hair into her hat, she was no longer Shizuka; she was a shadow only.

She found Ichiru puzzling over his late father's garments in a nearby room. Not wanting her spell-enthused acquisition to irreparably damage the difficult and ancient wards on the clothes, Shizuka had kept him from getting his hands on it until this point. Currently, he had paused- half-dressed- with his gaze riveted in intense concentration on the lining of the hood. He was muttering under his breath as he examined the spell work, his silver hair falling in his face.

Her eyes flitted over his throat and bare chest as she entered, her footsteps too quiet for him to hear. He sensed her a moment later, nearly jumping out of his skin and then offering her a sheepish smile as he hastily buttoned up his open shirt.

"You had better not break those wards," she warned, her patronization flat in tone.

He flushed slightly; she had apparently guessed correctly at what he had been thinking of. "Right, sorry," he apologized, slipping his arms into a thick vest with straps to hold weapons. "I was just thinking that I could probably make better ones. The spell that keeps blood scents from escaping the cloth has a few weak points in close range and the communication ward on the hood won't stifle my voice if I'm asking you a question, so…" His fingers fumbled on the vest's ties and she moved forward to assist.

"Wards like this are better to add on to," she disagreed, securing it around his tall frame. "They take much time to construct and breaking them is just as tedious."

"I could do it quickly," he muttered.

"Start with the assignments I gave you," she reminded him, glancing up to meet his gaze.

His black clothes contrasted starkly against his pale skin and hair. The image of his throat, bare against the dark fabric briefly flashed through her mind. She paused and the room fell into silence. He stared back at her, equally still; through the gossamer veil she wore, cherry blossom eyes locked with his amethyst ones. She had not realized how close they were; impulsively moving to help him dress had perhaps not been a good idea.

"Ah, that's right," Ichiru said suddenly, turning away to belt on an impressive array of weapons; one strap of leather crossed his chest diagonally, others setting about his waist. "I finished a rough draft for your wires. It should be done in a few days."

"I saw," she told him. "It looked good." He had returned the coil of wires late that night after examining its properties. The cruel weapon was now belted on at Shizuka's hip, cold and harsh in its presence.

"Thank you," he smiled, pulling his hood up over his head.

As Shizuka had, Ichiru disappeared into his new identity as well. His battle clothes were more nearly armor, the leather stiff and thick in the shoulders. The material was black from his boots to his hood all but for the hilt of his katana and those of the many daggers winking silver when they caught the light. Cloth did not trail about him as it did in Shizuka's deathly costume; it molded to his frame, turning him into a faceless soldier. He was leaner than his father had been but just as tall; it suited him well, if such words could be applied to the ghastly duty he would have to take up.

Shizuka had been conflicted over giving him the role. Akihiro had served her well enough- a mindless thrall to mindlessly fight and relay her words. Why did she need to drag Ichiru into her crimson world of dust, fangs and screaming when he could be just as useful in that lonely mansion, writing her spells she could take to battle? The boy was brilliantly clever, a diplomatic manipulator that would be perfect as her right hand, yes. He was a highly skilled fighter, yes. His own power and talents with spell work would be undeniably useful on the battlefield…yes. None of those traits, however, could justify dragging him into danger and placing this weight of vengeance on his back.

Except she _wanted _to drag him into darkness. He was Ichiru, another soul just as twisted and full of hatred as hers. He was her dear friend, a person who connected with her thoughts and emotions so easily that being around him was as easy as breathing. He was as sinful as she was; both of them wanted the world to crumble and fall in flames. Neither, with a masochistic passion, minded in the slightest if they themselves became broken achieving that goal.

Her assistant simply couldn't be Zero and Shizuka simply couldn't resist Ichiru.

Sensing that she had completed her contemplation of him, Ichiru placed his hand over his heart in a dramatic bow- an imitation of perhaps how a noble vampire would show respect to their pureblood lord. "I am your humble servant, Shadow-sama," he said lightly and the smile on his shadowed mouth was wicked.

She grinned back at him- the Shadow's smile, which was not Shizuka's smile at all. He seemed to understand.

It was time to kill.

o0O0o

"There are so many of them…" Yuuki murmured, her large eyes fixed on the small village that had quickly sprung up around the house. Eight years had not completely stolen the innocence from her eyes but a gentle sadness seemed to have taken to lurking around her face. Her pale skin looked paler near the white of her stiff, long-sleeved dress, her long brown hair vividly rich against the lifeless color.

Aido yawned, squinting in the morning light. "Close the window, won't you, Yuuki-chan?" he grumbled. "It doesn't look any different than it did yesterday."

The blond, blue-eyed noble was slumped in a wooden chair several paces away, the desk before him covered in books and messy papers. He was trying- very hard, it might be added- to tutor his pureblood lady in algebra but she seemed as inclined to set her brain into the task as she would be to put a hunter bullet through her heart. Not that he was complaining or anything; _no_, it was his duty and pleasure as a noble to patiently explain things to her- again and again and _again_- until she was ready to learn. "Ugh," he sighed, resisting the urge to bang his head on the desk.

"You're wrong, Aido-chan," Yuuki replied with a petulant frown. "There are two more houses. They were built last night while we were sleeping."

"And now they're sleeping like _we _should be," the blond pointed out miserably. "Why are we awake again?"

"Because Onii-sama is coming home this _morning_; correspondingly, we slept last night and now we are waiting for him," she recited cheerily.

"He works too hard," Aido groused, standing up abruptly to join her by the window. "What's with letting all these vampire families camp out and build houses around the Kuran's manor? There are plenty of other sanctuaries where they can hide. They don't need to hang onto Kaname-sama."

"The last major sanctuary just got destroyed," Yuuki murmured with a sigh, resting an elbow on the sill and staring out at the vampire village. "Everyone seeking shelter from Arai-dono was killed. Where else can they be safe if not within a pureblood's lands? Vampires like me and Onii-sama are the last ones the Association won't dare to attack- and how many purebloods will grant protection to lower level vampires?"

Aido said nothing in reply; he knew she was right. He just did not want his lord and lady to be endangered by the selfish fear of vampire commoners. If their home became too major of a sanctuary, it would draw attention; surely, the savage Hunter Association had one or two hunters who could take on a pureblood. Like that Shadow of theirs.

"It's still too bright to be looking out the window," he concluded sourly, dragging her back by the ear and slamming the shutters closed. To his luck, she actually let him- though her strength was far greater. The room fell into blessed darkness. He suddenly felt much better.

"Aido-chan," Yuuki said severely, "you're sort of boring, aren't you?"

"And I'm about to get worse," he informed her, sticking his nose in the air as he returned to the desk. "You skipped out on your lessons last night in order to sleep; that means now is the perfect time to catch up. Kaname-sama will be pleased to come home and find you hard at work."

"Eh….? No way," Yuuki objected. "I'm too excited to see Onii-sama; I can't possibly concentrate at a time like this."

"You never concentrate anyway so it hardly matters," Aido pointed out.

"That's mean!" she exclaimed, her face turning red and her demeanor turning at least six years more childish.

"That's _true_; now come study," her tutor said shortly.

"I don't want to," she refused.

"Too bad," he sympathized flatly.

"Aido-chan-"

Just as she was about to deliver a doubtlessly stunning retort, Kaname walked into the room, closely followed by Aido's cousins, Kain Akatsuki and Souen Ruka.

"Onii-sama!" Yuuki greeted warmly, instantly crossing the room to embrace her brother.

"Yuuki," Kaname replied, embracing her.

Aido looked away as they kissed, his gaze locking on Kain. His cousins were irritatingly lucky; they got to remain by Kaname's side while he got to baby-sit the whiny, teenage little sister. Though he could not help but care for Yuuki and though Kaname assured him that his duty was much more important, the blond's utmost loyalty lay with the elder Kuran.

"Hanabusa," Ruka greeted, walking over to him. Her voice was soft, like her hazel eyes. She was dressed somberly for the chilly autumn air outside. As always, Kain followed closely behind her.

Aido had nearly forgotten that his name was 'Hanabusa'. From the start, Kaname had called him by his last name 'Aido' and Yuuki, taking after her brother, had invented the name 'Aido-chan'. Only his cousins seemed to remember the family and childhood they shared.

"Hi, hi, Ruka," he greeted cheerily, affecting more energy than he actually felt. "Ohayo, Kain. You both look depressingly boring as always."

Kain ran a hand through his short orange hair, glancing wryly at Aido. "It's too early for smiling," he stated and stifled a yawn.

Aido sighed, impelled to agree. "Whatever," he muttered.

"Aido," Kaname said suddenly, apparently done with affectionate displays and ready to issue orders. "I've already filled in Kain and Ruka but you will be involved as well. I have a task for you."

The blond immediately perked up, his eyes locking on his master. "Hai, Kaname-sama," he acknowledged.

"As you know," the elder pureblood began, his wine-red eyes authoritative, "Lord Arai's attempt at creating a large, defensible sanctuary for uninvolved vampires had tragic results. Cross-san is attempting to persuade the Association to restrict their targets to the Vampire Council's outposts and communities but it is better if we work as well." He released a low sigh. "I want you three to visit a certain town that is currently a war zone. The hunters and vampires there are at a bloody standstill, fights breaking out only now and again. Within the area between them, there is an abandoned hunter safe house. This is your chance to sneak inside and find the data we need. Find the next target and report back to me as quickly as possible."

"I understand," Aido said dutifully.

"Of course, you do," Ruka murmured, "let's go then, Hanabusa."

"Argh, who do you think you're bossing, Ruka?!" Aido demanded, following her as she and Kain made for the door. He was about to leave when Yuuki spoke.

"Aido-chan! Ah…"

He glanced over his shoulder at the young pureblood who watched him with sadness on her face. "Yuuki-chan?" he blinked.

"Please be careful," she said after a moment and smiled. The expression was tired. Even the innocence of her sheltered life could not escape the weariness of war.

The animation left him. He stared at her blankly. "You too, Yuuki-chan," he said and left to follow his cousins.

The three nobles walked closely together through the cold autumn air. Around them, commoners peered out of their makeshift houses, fear perpetually in their eyes.

"With things like this, it seems as though vampires are losing the war," Aido observed, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"We're not," Ruka disagreed, shaking her head of honey-blond hair. "Vampires are more disorganized than hunters; we're a race not an organization. That is why they can kill us individually with so much ease. We have greater numbers however. There was an attack from the Council just two months ago that destroyed a minor hunter headquarters on the mainland. Plenty of them died."

Aido nodded, letting himself be comforted. "Yeah, you're right."

"It's not a good thing," Kain cut in. "It just means that the war will keep going on until the humans learn of our existence and everything is plunged into chaos."

"With the way the Association and the Council relentlessly refuse to compromise," Ruka murmured, "perhaps that's what they want."

"Who would want to destroy the world?" Aido breathed out, looking up at the wide blue sky, lit by the morning sun.

"Oh, there are people who do," Kain shrugged. "There are definitely people who do."

o0O0o

"I'm telling you," Cross said forcefully, slamming his hand down on the large, round table, "slaughtering the vampires who are only looking for shelter is not beneficial to your cause at all. Your enemies are the ones who fight back- not the ones who have nothing to do with the war."

The disinterested faces around him were mostly of individuals who were barely listening. The ones who were listening watched him with either blatant hostility and dislike or with weary exasperation. The only one to vary from this trend was the Association president himself who sat across the table from Cross, a fan hiding his smile but not his amused, green eyes.

"I was fairly certain that this Association and its members were of the opinion that all vampires had something to do with the war," the androgynous president pointed out in his silky, equally androgynous voice. "They all prey on humans, after all."

"They have no other choice," Cross replied patiently. "It is in their physiology to require human blood. However, scientific developments lead us to believe that a supplement could easily be made to replace such a dietary requirement. In fact, I have formulas for it-"

"Then why don't they go ahead and make such a supplement, if you have the formulas?" the president interrupted to wonder idly, tapping his fan against his chin. "No, Cross-san, they would not change even if you gave them the replacement as a present. They are beasts, after all. It is their nature to kill." He released a low laugh, his expression completely at ease. Hunters around the table nodded in agreement.

The door of the large council room opened, two black-clad individuals quietly entering with similarly quiet footsteps. Eyes all around the table immediately flitted to them; Cross stifled a moan of frustration. The last thing he needed was for _her _to show up.

The Shadow slid into the last unoccupied seat at the table, a few places away from the president. Her hooded assistant stood calmly at her right shoulder, surveying the leading figures of the Association with interest. Clinging to both of them, marring the pure black of their clothes, was dust. Absently, as she waited for the discussions to resume, the Shadow brushed it off of herself with gloved hands.

"A good fight, Shadow-san?" a dark-haired hunter sitting beside Cross inferred. His name was Yagari Touga- a longtime acquaintance of the ex-hunter. His clear, blue eyes were friendly, even admiring as he looked at the masked legend. Cross shot him a dirty look for encouraging her.

Her assistant did not speak for her however. Her reply to Yagari's question was a wordless grin that bared a white set of human teeth. Her eyes were invisible, obscured by the gossamer veil that hung half-way across her face and trailed down from her hat at the back. She looked like a demon, grinning so callously with the remains of her slaughtered foes on her clothes.

The other hunters grinned back; she was popular, without a doubt. She was the hero of many battles and as more and more of the Association's fighters looked up to her, she was invited to more and more of these top rank meetings. Her word held a frightening amount of sway and never, not once, had that sway been used to Cross's benefit.

Her most contributory remarks concerned battle strategies, brilliant ideas and techniques that were worthy of a master tactician. Her most common responses to peace versus war situations were 'Let's kill them all.'

"Shadow-san," the president greeted the dark-clad woman pleasantly, "we're pleased to have you join us. Cross-san was just telling us how we could live in peace with vampires. It's a rather familiar argument of his, so I wouldn't say you missed anything."

"We _could _live in peace with vampires, you know," her assistant said suddenly, his young, light-hearted voice carrying a sly note. "As long as they wore muzzles."

There was laughter at that, some hunters chuckling to themselves, others outright guffawing at the thought. Surprise colored the tone of their amusement however; the Shadow did not usually make jokes.

The answer behind that peculiarity was apparent; she had not been the one to make it.

"You're not the same assistant as last time," Cross stated, staring intently at the boy. Yes, it was a boy- at least twenty years younger than the last assistant had been. The ex-hunter could see it now- the leaner frame, the lanky way the boy moved. There was something casual and mocking in the assistant's posture and something sinister about his barely visible smile.

"That's right," the assistant replied.

"Why the change?" the ex-hunter pressed.

"Shadow-sama's last assistant died," was the explanation. "Suddenly."

"That's certainly interesting," the Association president commented. "I was unaware that Shadow-san made a practice of replacing her assistants." "It happens all the time," the hooded boy replied nonchalantly. "You never know; _I_ might be dead next week."

"Shadow-san seems to survive just fine," Cross pointed out.

"That's right," Yagari spoke up suddenly, "you have been lending aid to the Association for nearly thirty years, Shadow-san. How old are you by now?"

"It's rude to ask a lady's age," the assistant retorted.

"Are those Shadow-san's words?" the president coughed in disbelief.

"No, they're mine," the boy said, grinning.

More laughter resounded around the table; even the Shadow was smiling. A sinking feeling began to instill itself into Cross's frame. The new assistant was more than a stoic tool- he was charismatic and _funny_. The Association had listened to the Shadow because she had good advice on tactics. Now they would listen to her assistant's voice simply because it was clever and full of wit. They would _enjoy _it.

"With that aside," Cross spoke up once more, "will you please consider my request? There is more than enough tension with the Council of Vampires; I can think of no need to attack sanctuaries that pose no danger to you. I am not asking much."

"Cross-san," the president said with a delicate, little sigh. "You have been presenting these suggestions to us for over ten years, yet you have no power amongst vampires with which to enforce your peace on them. Ever since Kuran Juuri and Kuran Haruka committed suicide, there just hasn't been any point…Can their son really do anything?"

They had not committed suicide but Cross knew it was neither the time nor the place for such truths. "Kaname-kun already has massive support from both noble families and a considerable amount of the commoner population," he argued. "There are vampires that would seek peace near him and more amongst those who live in terror of being skewered on your blades. The perpetuation of this war lies with the Vampire Council- but not them alone." He looked pointedly at the president.

The president sighed. "Remind me why peace is a good thing again, Cross-san. You want us to tame the vampires and live in harmony with them- to what end? If we exterminate them all, humans will never again fall victim to their savageness. If we 'make peace', the transgressions will occur, here and there….now and again…and subtly, those we hunters have sworn to protect will be eaten in silence."

"There is good in the vampire race," Cross insisted. "There is the potential for kindness in their hearts. 'Exterminating' them is as cruel as murdering a whole race of humans."

"Then we are cruel," the president conceded easily. "We must be cruel if we are to protect those helpless against them."

Cross shook his head, feeling that he was losing the argument too rapidly. "You will destroy the world this way."

"We'll destroy them first," the president assured him. "Then you will have your peace- in a world with humans only."

"It can't be done," the ex-hunter swore.

"Oh…?" The androgynous man tapped his fan against his chin. "What do you think, Shadow-san? Can it be done?" The Shadow's assistant answered the question exactly as Cross thought he would.

"Of course. We just have to kill them quickly."

"That's how it is, Cross-san," the president concluded lightly. "Now, I know it is difficult for you, but I must request that you do not bring up such topics again." He opened his fan with a snap, staring over its edge at the ex-hunter with piercing, pale green eyes. "If you cannot restrain yourself, then you can excuse yourself from the troublesome duty of attending."

Once the meeting adjourned, Cross walked quickly to catch up with the Shadow. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Yagari following a pace behind him. He was about to stop and tell the dark-haired hunter to mind his own business when a red-headed young man came rushing up to them.

"Shishou!" he called out, dashing up to Yagari with an ecstatic grin. "We've got a mission! It's nobles- three of them! We just need one more person and we can go."

"What?" Yagari blinked, "Kaito-"

"Hurry up, you geezer!" the redhead persisted, grabbing Yagari's elbow. "Before someone else takes them!"

"Right, right, calm down already," the dark-haired hunter acquiesced blandly, letting Kaito drag him off.

Cross shook his head, wondering who they were off to murder. He had more important things to worry about however. "Shadow-san," he called out, "might I have a word with you?"

Shadow and assistant turned at the same time, the latter wearing a smile full of ambiguous intent. "It would be a pleasure, Cross-san," he said courteously.

The young assistant bothered Cross for a second time. At the meeting, the boy had spoken for himself; the previous assistant never had. Suddenly, Cross was dealing with two people rather than one and her puppet; it also meant that he could not be sure which words were the Shadow's and which were the boy's.

"My thanks," the ex-hunter murmured. In the long hallway, plenty of people were walking about, some in a hurry, some chatting in groups. It was inevitable that they drew attention- the Shadow being as notorious as she was- but neither party used voices loud enough to be heard by passersby. It would be fine to talk. "I simply wished to inquire as to your intentions. Surely you can't believe that winning this war without severely damaging the world is possible."

"Oh…?" The assistant tilted his hooded head to one side. "Well, no, Shadow-sama does not really believe that. Hunters don't like to think about such consequences, you see- why would upsetting them have any benefit?"

Cross drew a short breath. "Then you lied in the council chamber?"

"In the Associations eyes, _you _are the fool and the liar, Cross-san," the assistant shrugged carelessly. "If you say to anyone 'Shadow-san lied in the council room', you must be the one lying, right?"

"Please don't deflect my question," the ex-hunter said lowly, his eyes narrowing. "It was merely an inquiry- not a threat."

"People such as you and Shadow-sama cannot trust each other," was the reply, "every word is a threat. The answer to your question however is," he paused as if listening, "no, Shadow-sama did not lie. She is quite certain that, with the Association's aid, she could kill every vampire alive before the world was destroyed. If she so desired."

"Even purebloods?" Cross asked, his voice becoming more cold as he watched first the assistant and second the source of the boy's words.

"Purebloods are emotional creatures prone to weakness," the dark-clad boy answered with a quiet smile. "The force of endless time can find a flaw in any heart. If you destroy something they love, their control shatters and they are little more than a senseless beast, madly fighting to kill and to die. Well, of course you have to be faster than they are…but it is much easier to kill them that way. Shadow-sama has done it before."

Cross's brow furrowed. He was liking the situation less and less. How much was this person his enemy? "Is that so? You were wise not to boast of such a feat, Shadow-san," he commended the woman. "The Vampire Council takes pains to avenge any purebloods slain. However, whatever you have done in the past is irrelevant. The world _will _be destroyed at this rate and your influence is driving the Association further and further into a situation where nothing can be changed. Is there nothing with which I can persuade you to join my cause?"

There was a pause, a moment of silence between the black-clad hunters. "Why, yes," the assistant said suddenly, to Cross's surprise. "Perhaps. Shadow-sama is very interested in the Kuran family. If you reveal information about them, their whereabouts perhaps, their habits…she might very well be interested in lending you her support."

"'_Their _whereabouts'?" Cross echoed sharply. "There is only one surviving Kuran."

"Kuran Kaname, you mean?" the assistant guessed. "Are you sure?"

"Quite sure," the ex-hunter lied with a nod.

"I see…Again, perhaps Shadow-sama is not interested in a deal after all." The boy shrugged. "You are not the only means available to attain information. Good day, Cross-san."

The Shadow smiled, tipping her hat mockingly and turning. He knew then that those last words, the words that had been used to pursue and reject his offer, had been hers completely. The boy of hers followed her casually, his long-legged stride carrying him powerfully down the hall.

Cross's eyes narrowed. What had that been? No one knew that Yuuki existed; that fact had been kept hidden from the day the youngest Kuran had been born. Had the Shadow been referring to a different Kuran then? Juuri, perhaps? Haruka? No, she had been talking about surviving Kurans. There was only one other Kuran left- the elder brother of Juuri and Haruka…the murderer of Juuri and Haruka. Whether or not that person was still alive was something Cross did not know. That snowy night so long ago, Kaname had said 'I dealt with him' and that only.

It was enough to be wary of- enough to tell Kaname. The Shadow was a powerful enemy and full of secrets.

o0O0o

Zero walked unhurriedly down the long hall, his hands shoved in the pockets of his long coat. The Hunter Association was more extensive than he had imagined, a large series of buildings clustered around a main one. Here, hunters gathered to receive orders, the leaders of the Association took council to make decisions and correspond with organizations in other countries and common hunters lounged about, socializing and recounting war stories. In the cold, unfeeling main building, there was the highest concentration of severity and even people chatting in groups along the hall used quiet voices.

Zero was now officially a member of the Association. Shizuka had generously left him on his own with no idea of what to do at the Association gates; from there, he had wandered about until someone thought to ask him what he was doing. He had related a long story of how his parents had defected from the Association in order to protect him and he had grown up not knowing about vampires. When his parents were murdered by the beasts, he learned his duty as a hunter to kill vampires. It was not a bad story; Ichiru had thought of it. The Association officials seemed to buy it just fine.

They were quite happy to test his abilities.

That had been quite an extensive process. In a large, arena-like room, they had pitted him against captive level E's and C's, watching as he effortlessly killed each one. The faster he moved, the more they liked him. He passed the basics of a test on wards as well; they gave him membership and told him to get to work.

It irked him to no end how correct Shizuka had been. She was right; ascending through the ranks at this sort of rate would be very easy indeed. She had also been right to say he was not very diplomatic; though he earned plenty of praise, his stoic face had not earned him any new 'friends'. He hated it when Shizuka was right.

That meant Ichiru was irreversibly placed at her side as her assistant. Zero could do nothing to look out for him or protect him. There was only Shizuka and who knew how much effort she would put into protecting a tool? That consistently infuriating vampire could not be trusted with Zero's most precious person. And what could he _do _about it?

Zero ground his teeth together, glaring at random people who glanced at him as they passed by.

"Hey! Badass-looking kid with the silver hair!" a loud voice suddenly called out from behind him.

Zero looked over his shoulder blandly, his eyes greeting with the shockingly vivid sight of bright, red hair as a man slightly older than him exuberantly approached.

"Hey, hey," said the redhead with a huge grin, "you look like you're good. Are you good?"

"Sure," said Zero with a shrug.

"_Awesome; _let's go," the redhead said decisively, taking Zero by the elbow and pulling him down the hall the way he had come. "There's three of them- nobles. Apparently they thought they could sneak into an abandoned hunter safe house but they set off an alarm- which notified us. I grabbed the mission sheet before anyone else noticed so you, me and Shishou get it all to ourselves. I reckon that's one for each of us, yeah? Not bad, yeah?"

Despite the redhead's cheerful and unrestrained nature, there was something sly about the way he grinned. His blue eyes concealed secrets- and, Zero thought, a ruthlessness. This was a person who had killed before and with relish.

A 'mission' however, Zero's first or no, sounded extremely good, however. Anything to forget that the eccentric, white-haired, soft-voiced bane of his life had a leash around Ichiru's neck. "Not bad," Zero agreed. "You are?"

"Takamiya Kaito," the redhead introduced himself. "And yourself?" "Kiryuu Zero," the silver-haired hunter replied.

"It's a pleasure, Kiryuu," Takamiya grinned. "Let's kill some vampires."


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three: Corruption and Hypocrisy

"Ah, it's always like this with hunters," Aido murmured, glancing warily around the devastated ruin of half-destroyed buildings and carnage. "There are wards all over this safe house."

He and his two cousins stood side by side in the wreckage, the shadow of the tall, hunter safe house cast over them by the wan, winter sun. The door, a few paces away, was battered and hung off of its hinges but they could not advance any farther. Dust hung in the air, stolen by the cruel wind from the remains of dead vampires. The scent of dried blood was thick from where it had soaked the earth. A battle had occurred here just days before and other than rotting corpses and unseen ghosts, the place was as lonely as a graveyard. Ruka released a low breath into the chilly silence, tucking a strand of honey blond hair behind her ear. "We need to find a way in quickly, Hanabusa," she reminded her cousin. "The fighting could start up again at any minute at any location in this forsaken city; we don't want to be caught in the middle of it!"

"I know that!" Aido snapped.

"Quiet," Kain ordered them, his unemotional voice low as always. "Even if the hunters don't hear you, the vampires might- just because we're nobles doesn't necessarily mean they won't attack us as strangers."

Aido sighed, lowering his voice. "I know that too. However…this exterior ward is not something to make light of." He reached out, running his mental fingers along the ward's planes, scanning the intricate and ancient strings of thought woven together. "'Vampires may not pass'; it is quite clear on that. We can't get through."

"So break the ward," Ruka suggested, shifting restlessly from foot to foot and eyeing some distant buildings. "You're the best at spell work."

"Do you know how old this ward is?" Aido seethed. "It would take a pureblood a month to break it! I dare you to estimate how long it would take _me_!"

"I said, _quiet_," Kain said sharply, shaking his cousin's shoulder roughly. "We will find another way in. This building looks ready to come down any second; if we find a break in the wall, we will find a break in the ward." He released Aido and strode off, his walk purposeful as he surveyed the damaged safe house.

Aido glared at his back, following nonetheless. Why did the damned, orange-haired idiot always have to make so much sense? A glance at Ruka told him that she was as stoic and haughty as ever. He grumbled sulkily under his breath.

"There," Kain stated, coming to a stop so abruptly that Aido nearly ran into him. Kain was pointing at a high section of the building where the roof had been taken off. "The wards should be weaker up there," he deigned to elaborate as Aido and Ruka took in the sight.

"Right," Aido nodded, crouching and springing up two stories with vampiric strength. Nimbly, he caught a hold of the roof's edge and peered through the hole into the safe house. For his efforts, he was gifted with a view of a messy room full of wooden tables, chairs and rubble. There were drinking glasses here and there around the room, some already smashed to broken pieces on the floor. The wards were indeed weaker; with the right spell, the blond noble would be able to force his way through.

"We're good," he called down to his cousins. "Come here." He turned back to the wards, muttering a long strand of words in the old language to open a rift. Ruka and Kain jumped up beside him, graceful as cats as they leapt through the breach he had created into the safe house. He followed them and the wards closed behind him, as though to erase the vampires it had allowed through its perimeters.

"Where will the information be, Kain?" Ruka asked the orange-haired noble quietly. "I doubt any electronic systems will be functional- the power is completely gone."

"We can try the room for records," he shrugged in reply, picking his way across the glass-littered room. "Most of the missions they send over are faxes; maybe the target will be listed in one of those."

"Keep an eye out for traps," Aido warned, wanting to feel as important and knowledgeable as Kain.

"Obviously," Ruka scoffed.

Aido glared at her back, following as Kain led the way down the hall.

The building was old and the floorboards creaked underfoot; they stepped lightly however, their graceful movements disturbing nothing but dust. Aido peered into open rooms, his eyes catching glimpses of hastily abandoned paperwork and meals as he passed. Despite the emptiness, there was a sense of hostility in the air- as if the very walls looked coldly down upon them, vampires trespassing in their ancient enemies' territory.

"Ah. It's here," Kain said abruptly, pushing open a door to reveal a cluttered room stuffed with papers. He slipped inside, crossing to one corner of the room where a faxing machine waited beside a dusty computer. He began ruffling through a stack of papers beside the machine.

"Eh, this will take forever," Aido groused. "A commoner could do this."

"A commoner could not have gotten inside," Ruka disagreed, brushing dust off of her pale-colored coat with an expression of distaste. "More ever, do not forget that we are in danger right now." She assessed the towering stacks of haphazardly organized documents once more. "Perhaps we could narrow down our search and then take the documents we have left to look through with us?"

"Sure, but we cannot be certain of finding the Association's next target that way," Kain pointed out. "Let's discuss alternatives when a cursory search yields nothing; for now, help me with these, yeah?"

Ruka released a weary breath and began sifting through another pile. Aido stared at them glumly for a moment before deciding to take a better look through the room. Several, small rows of shelves obscured the far wall and he paced forward to scan their aisles. The documents got dustier as he progressed and in the faint light, his keen eyes snagged on a stain of alcohol marring the corner of one page. He shook his head in disgust. "Hunters," he muttered.

Nestled within the gloom of the furthest corners of the room, he discovered a small safe. The metal box was placed upon an old table but neither it nor the table was nearly so dusty as the rest of the shelves. Curiously, he inspected it, his wide blue eyes taking in the complex lock on the front and the anti-vampire wards layering its door.

"Oi," he called over his shoulder. "I found a safe!"

"We're looking for records or orders concerning the next targeted sanctuary, Hanabusa," Ruka called back, her tone crisp, "not peculiar Association artifacts. Leave it be and come help with the search."

"I bet they lock up the really important orders," he told her petulantly. "I'm going to figure out a way to open it."

"Fine," she sniffed. "Don't help. I will make sure to tell Kaname-sama exactly how 'useful' you were when the mission is complete."

"And _I_ will tell him how my brilliant actions saved us hours of wasted time," Aido growled under his breath.

The wards protecting the safe were less complex than those which had been around the building but the average noble vampire would still find them to be a considerable problem. The weaving of the letters was solid and masterful- it was as much a lock against vampires as the safe's physical lock was to humans. Aido, however, was no average level B; he had been placed on the covers of many human magazines as a young, scientific genius. His knowledge in spell work was no less spectacular. He would have the wards dispatched in no time at all.

Despite his confidence, it took him about three hours of diligent work to slice them away from the safe. Ruka and Kain were still methodically searching through dusty records as he finally put his hands on the metal lock. He closed his eyes in concentration, murmuring a soft word to tap into his own, specialized power. A layer of frost began to extend from his fingertips, seeping into the crack around the safe's door and thickening as he froze the metal. When a solid layer of ice covered the safe's surface, he leapt up and delivered a powerful kick to the safe's door. The metal, made brittle by his power, snapped with the force of the blow, his booted foot leaving a visible dent in the door. He straightened and, smiling in success, pulled open the door.

Inside, a neatly stacked pile of papers awaited him and he seized them with eager fingers. A quick scan of the first page let him glean that it was a list of important negotiations that had taken place between some higher-ups within the Association and an unknown party. Most of the information was vague references to meetings, locations and dates. The dates began around eight years ago and continued onward to the present. So-and-so had said such-and-such at some party or another; nobody number one had met with nobody number two in the evening. It was obvious that the documents were not what Aido and his cousins had been looking for but all the work he had done to attain it kept him reading. One phrase leapt out at him.

'_On the sixth of September, a series of small agreements were made as a prelude to a stronger, future alliance. After some debate, both sides agreed to grant the other a few, small requests. Several changes were made such as the appointment of two new individuals to the President's council as well as a specific addition to the Execution List. In return, the other party offered a priceless gift which was accepted. Dealings continued with promising prospects_.'

Aido reread the phrase, a frown forming on his face. What did it even mean? Obviously, the Association was making deals with someone suspicious but who? The wording danced around the subject as if intent on never making sense. To someone completely uninvolved- as Aido was- it was as obscure and incomprehensible as a code yet to be deciphered. Irritably, he flipped through the pages.

The first few covered specifics of the new official's appointments and responsibilities but nothing about the 'priceless' gift was mentioned again. On the last page, he found a description of the Execution List's new addition; a tall ex-human with brown hair. The mission was listed as extremely dangerous, only to be accepted by high ranking hunters. It meant nothing to Aido.

"Ah," Kain said suddenly, his voice breaking the silence and making his blond cousin jump. "I think I've found it."

"You found it?!" Ruka demanded anxiously. "Let me see."

Aido neatly stacked his acquired documents and tucked them into his coat's inner pocket. Perhaps Kaname would know what to make of them. If they turned out to be as meaningless as they seemed then Aido had just lost all the glory to be had on this mission. Sourly, he returned to his cousins' side, watching as they affirmed the next Association target.

"Oh no," Ruka breathed. "It's uncle."

"What?" Aido exclaimed, snatching the paper from her. A feeling of dread washed over him as he read the paper, the color draining from his face. His father's homestead was listed, soon to be attacked five days from now. All vampires dwelling there were to be hunted down and slaughtered.

"What…?" he breathed again, his voice loud in the quiet building. "Why…why would it be my father? He's only sheltering children from other noble families. There are larger sanctuaries!"

"Hanabusa," Kain said, placing a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Don't panic. We've found out in time and we will be able to warn him."

Ruka drew a long breath, composing herself. "That's right. Kaname-sama will not stand for this. We will definitely be able to protect everyone."

Aido stared blankly a the paper for a moment, swallowing the lump of fear in his throat. His father, his mother, his sister, the children- all of them were in danger. He gritted his teeth; being afraid would not help them. He had to act- to get out of this forsaken ruin and warn them. He had his own strength and Kain, the son of his father's brother and Ruka, the daughter of his mother's brother. With the three of them, they would not let this come to pass.

Without warning, the sound of the safe house's front door ripping off of its broken hinges assaulted their ears.

"Oi, vampires!" a loud shout rang through the building. "We know you're in there! You wanna come out or should we play cat and mouse?"

"Quiet, Kaito." The nobles heard the lower tone well enough with their keen ears. "If you warn them, they will have time to prepare an ambush."

"I don't think so," a third voice disagreed, softer than either of the others. "I cast a spell before we entered to strengthen the wards outside; even with the building's damage, the nobles won't be escaping quickly."

"You heard Kiryuu, Shishou!" the first one laughed. "Stop being an old geezer and worrying about us. If you were alone, you would have charged in headlong already!"

Ruka exchanged an alarmed look with Kain. "Quickly," she breathed out, "we should return to that common room where the wall was damaged. We might still be able to break through."

"What if that new spell is worth considering?" Kain questioned lowly. "They came in through the front door so the wards there will be displaced. They are the only thing in our way."

"You want us to fight?" Ruka whispered.

"I agree with Akatsuki," Aido told her darkly. "I'm a bit pissed off with the hunters at the moment. Killing a few of them will make me feel better. Besides, there's only three of them. One for each of us."

"There could be more waiting outside," she hissed. "Killing a few foot soldiers won't save our family, Hanabusa!"

"It's better than being trapped here and letting them pick the battleground!" he defended.

"Let's just go," Kain sighed. "Don't worry about the fighting, Ruka. I will make sure you do not get hurt."

"It is not only myself I am worried about," she replied harshly but followed as they crept out of the room and down the hall.

"Where are they?" Aido murmured, straining his senses for the sound of the hunters moving about. Spells were twisting through the air, distorting their abilities; the hunters were fast. Rather than wait for a reply, he began whispering counter spells under his breath.

"They're downstairs," Ruka breathed in response, pointing towards the end of the hall where a stairwell awaited. "Let's stay here for a moment; Hanabusa, you should make the stairs impassible with your ice. I will send objects down to them."

"Right, right," he dismissed, disentangling his mind from a strange and baffling hunter ward that he could not identify. He raised on hand, causing a thick layer of ice to form across the stairs. Meanwhile, Ruka was using her own specialized ability to imbue side tables and other objects with temporary life, sending them slipping down the stairs to hinder the hunters below.

Aido returned to the wards, bothered by the obscure nature of his enemies' spells. The anti-vampire charms hanging in the air were full of unnecessary phrases and fake cores; it was if the spells had been specifically designed to confuse and delay anyone trying to break them. Aido wasted about two minutes being led in mental circles before he gave up. Weakened by a spell or not, he could still kill a few hunters well enough.

He looked up, noticing Ruka still sending objects downstairs but failing to find Kain. "Where's Akatsuki?" he asked her, alarmed by the orange-haired vampire's sudden disappearance.

"He's taking an alternate route," she informed him, "so as to sneak up behind them."

"What? When did we decide to split up?" he demanded.

"Oh, weren't you secretly wanting to kill them all by yourself, Hanabusa?" she asked flatly, giving life to a rug on the floor and tugging Aido out of the way as it flopped past.

A loud crash rang in their ears, the scent of burning wood drifting through the air. Both grimaced, well aware that Kain was making use of his fire abilities.

"Argh," Aido growled, fisting his hands in his hair. "I'm going down there!"

"Hanabusa! Wait!" Ruka exclaimed, reaching out for him as he nimbly leapt down the stairs, over the icy coating. Her fingers closed on nothing.

The main floor of the safe house was filled with objects that moved on their own, each shuffling slowly towards a cloud of smoke near the front door. More crashes shattered the silence, plumes of flame erupting towards the ceiling and walls as wood splintered and the building shuddered. Aido made to dash across the wide, tile floor towards the fighting but the sound of a sword being unsheathed behind him made him pause and whirl around.

Watching him with impassive, amethyst eyes was a silver-haired teen, not much younger than Aido himself. The hunter was dressed in a dark gray coat typical of his kind, his katana gleaming in the light of Kain's fire. His utter calm disturbed Aido somewhat. Was this the hunter who had cast the bewildering spells?

"How did you know we were here?" Aido questioned him, trying to buy time to assess his enemy.

Silver Hair watched Aido with one of those bad-ass expressions that said 'I don't give a damn about whatever nonsense you're spewing and I am about to skewer you on the point of my sword.' Aido blinked and hastily danced out of the way as the hunter's blade came sweeping towards his torso.

This was one of the hunters who was planning to butcher his family, Aido reminded himself and gritted his teeth. With inhuman speed, he moved to stand directly behind the hunter, reaching out to thrust his arm through Silver Hair's chest. The hunter turned, however- reflexes as quick as a steel trap- and caught Aido's strike on the flat of his blade. Aido swung one hand at Silver Hair's head, aiming to leave a fist-sized dent in his enemy's skull. Silver Hair ducked, effortlessly and skillfully lunging around Aido to send a stabbing strike a the vampire's back.

The blade grazed the noble as he dodged out of the way, slicing a rip through the back of his coat and a thin line of blood across his skin. Anti-vampire magic pricked at his flesh, holding the wound open against his natural healing powers. He withdrew several paces, glaring at the hunter. Silver Hair was no weak fighter and doubtlessly held the honor of being _nearly _a worthy opponent. Regardless of the hunter's skill level, Aido was not going to win by holding back.

Aido stretched out one hand, abruptly sending ice shards shooting out from his palm towards Silver Hair. The hunter sidestepped one, slashing the others out of the air with his sword. Aido let more ice shards fly, keeping the hunter at bay with a constant attack.

The scent of blood slid through the air, distracting him; Kain had been injured. The smoke cleared just enough for Aido to catch a glimpse of a hunter with fiery, red hair stabbing his cousin through the shoulder. "Akatsuki!" he cried out, cut off when Silver Hair exploited the opportunity and swung at him. He managed to avoid his opponent's blade but he was unprepared when Silver Hair's boot caught him in the chest, sending him flying backwards to collide with the wall.

As he pulled himself hastily from the floor, he noticed Kain's hunter frantically putting out flames on his shoulder. Kain engaged his enemy once more.

Ruka, however, had also caught the scent of Kain's blood and was down the stairs in an instant. She paused, seeing both Kain and her cousin caught in their own battles and torn between which one to assist. She did not see the dark-haired man quietly appearing behind her and aiming the black barrel of a gun at her head.

"Ruka!" Kain hollered, his desperate voice resounding through the room as he moved with an inhuman speed to knock her out of the way. A gunshot followed, a bullet burying itself in Kain's neck.

"Akatsuki," Ruka breathed, unable to even pause for him as two hunters advanced on her.

"Look, Shishou!" the red-haired hunter said to his dark-haired elder, "it's a pretty one! Hey, vampire," he addressed Ruka lightly, "if you let me rip out your fangs first, I'll go on a date with you." Severe burns covered his shoulder and blood oozed from a cut on his side but he stood straight, walking towards her with a sword in one hand and a grin on his face. The dark-haired hunter sighed, his gun pointed resolutely at Ruka.

Aido fought Silver Hair desperately, barely able to spare a glance as Ruka drew her animated objects around Kain in a pitiful defense. The blond noble just barely managed to dodge the arc of Silver Hair's katana, sending a layer of frost down to the tile floor around the hunter's feet. The ice crawled upward, forming around Silver Hair's ankles and holding him in place. In that moment, as Silver Hair struggled to regain his movement, Aido noticed a weak point. The hunter's grip on his sword had loosened.

Lunging forward, Aido knocked the blade from Silver Hair's grip. A triumphant grin crossed his face. Silver Hair could no longer move and his accursed, anti-vampire katana was paces away. Done with his battle, Aido turned to aid Ruka.

"Heh. As I thought, you fell for that," the silver-haired hunter laughed quietly.

Two gunshots sounded and Aido jerked to one side; both bullets found their mark, piercing through his chest. His belated dodge had only prevented them from liquefying his heart. Blood seeped out at an alarming rate across his coat and he fell to his knees, turning to look at his enemy.

Silver Hair had drawn a gun from his coat, the hand holding it as steady as it had been holding the katana. He murmured a soft word under his breath and the ice around his feet was immediately reduced to water. He moved to pick up his katana and glanced down at Aido.

"My advice, vampire," he said impassively, "is 'don't get up again'."

Darkness swam around Aido's vision as his body threatened to pass out. Silver Hair was walking towards Ruka and Kain; that was the only fact that registered in the blond's mind. Feebly, he reached out to grab Silver Hair's ankle. He had to stop him. At this rate, his entire family would die.

Mercilessly, the silver-haired hunter drove the point of his sword down into Aido's wrist. The noble jerked, the new pain fuzzy in his already agonized body. He blinked, watching as the world blurred. Silver Hair withdrew his sword and his ankle and walked away.

"I am not your enemy," Ruka was saying quietly. "You are my vessel. You will hear my voice and move with my purpose. I am not your enemy."

"Kaito," the dark-haired hunter warned, "she is using her power on you. Do not be swayed." A gunshot sounded along with the crash of splintering wood.

"I am not your enemy," Ruka said again, her voice breathless.

"Kaito!" the dark-haired man shouted again. Steel rang against steel.

"I will restrain him, Yagari-san," Silver Hair's voice swam through Aido's ears. "Hurry and kill her."

"Ha…Hanabusa!" Somewhere far away, Ruka's was shouting for him. "I…get up! Get up, Hanabusa!"

Steel clanging. Gunshots. A pained cry.

"_Hanabusa!_"

The world went dark.

o0O0o

Ichiru watched Shizuka intently as she walked a few feet ahead of him. Before taking on the role of her assistant, he had never spent a large amount of time at her side as she impersonated the Shadow. Dressed in her black, form-fitting coat and hidden by the veil trailing from her hat, she seemed to adopt a completely different persona. Her footfalls were heavier and her walk was more aggressive. Not only that but she smiled while fighting- a horrible grin that was as violent as her skillful movements. Even when she stood still, she was a wild, uncontrollable thing, condensed and restrained by a black shell. She was not 'Shizuka' when garbed in this warrior's costume; it unnerved him and if he was honest, he could even say that he hated it.

Not that dressing up in freakish black clothes, slaughtering vampires and delivering evil, heartless one-liners wasn't incredibly fun- Ichiru had certainly been able to enjoy himself. So long as he ignored the fact that his savior from eight years ago was invisible behind a mask of silent viciousness, he could excel at his new profession.

"When I said that vampires should wear muzzles, by the way," he said lowly through the ward that let him speak to Shizuka, "I was only joking."

He heard her laugh- a soft sound that did not escape into the Association hallway but was released for his ears alone. "A being such as you can never hope to best me; with that in mind, it is invariable that you would occasionally entertain peculiar fantasies. I forgive you."

He stifled a choked noise, grateful for the hood that hid his reddening face. "I…I've never _fantasized_…That's not what I meant," he said finally. He had been an idiot to bring it up at all. When she wanted to, she could always tie his mind in knots. At least when she was talking to him, she acted herself.

Shizuka placed a black-gloved hand over her mouth- covering a smile, if he knew her half as well as he thought. He sighed.

After 'chatting' with Cross Kaien, Shizuka had led her new assistant to the Association library. There, they had spent hours perusing the selection of spell books. Though she was an expert in wards, there were yet aspects of the hunters' magic that she had yet to comprehend. Ichiru used the opportunity to inspire himself as she softly lectured him on the seemingly endless intricacies of spell work. With her teaching, he had been able to understand spells much more quickly than any other hunter his age but apparently, it would take at _least _a century and a half for him to acquire a complete education. From the day they had met, Shizuka had taken a keen interest in his inventing of spells- and no wonder; his never before seen creations gave her an advantage in every battle she fought. Sometimes, he was certain that was the only reason she kept him around.

Wanting a safer topic to converse over, Ichiru opened his mouth again. "Do you think Zero will come home around the same time that we do?"

"Perhaps," she replied indifferently, as they passed into the main hall. "I suspect that he has already been dragged off on a mission- predicting how long that will take is impossible. Why? Do you miss him desperately?"

"Hardly," he scoffed. "If he comes home late, I can't bully him into helping me with dinner- or breakfast, I mean, considering our schedule." He paused, contemplating it. "Then again, I can get away with more; he won't be around to raise a fuss…"

"Ah, speak of the devil," Shizuka murmured lightly, coming to a halt.

Ichiru stopped at her right shoulder, following her line of vision to the Association's large, double doors that led out into the city. Three hunters were dragging in a half unconscious noble vampire. One of them- the red-haired young hunter that had accosted Yagari Touga outside the meeting hall- was covered in burns, his entire shoulder scorched and blackened. Yagari, at his side, bore fewer wounds yet a decidedly less cheery expression. The last member of their group, with one hand on the captive noble's elbow, was Zero.

Ichiru glanced over his brother just long enough to make sure that he was relatively uninjured before turning his eyes to the prisoner. The vampire was young with blond hair and pain-dazed blue eyes. Blood covered his torn coat and from the severity of the red stains, it was his own. His hands were bound behind his back with anti-vampire chains but he hardly looked to be in well enough shape to run away.

As Shizuka and Ichiru looked on, several hunter officials rushed up to Zero's group, demanding a report. Close behind them, a few doctors slunk up to the redhead and darker clad jailors awaited custody of the prisoner. Yagari stepped forward.

"The nobles were sifting around the records room," he told the official gruffly. "We fought them in the main room but one of them charmed Kaito into being her thrall; she took her fellow and escaped. Since the other two escaped with some documents, we brought this one back for questioning. We still don't know whose orders he was acting on."

The official nodded in a businesslike way, gesturing for the jailors to take the noble. "Good work; please go have your injuries checked over and report to the missions department. They will record the details of the mission and assess your rankings."

"Rankings?" Ichiru murmured.

"Sou," Shizuka said, a hint of a smile in her voice. "The number of vampires you kill, the level of that vampire- those affect a hunter's ranking. Isn't it amusing how they make a game of it?" She shook her head. "But these children are just as addicted to killing vampires as vampires are to drinking blood!"

"I suppose the concept of peace really is foolish then," Ichiru surmised, thinking back to the righteous but doomed determination in Cross's eyes.

"_I_ wasn't going to worry about it," she told him. "The war will continue. Any attempts at negotiation will inevitably fail."

Ichiru nodded cheerfully in agreement, tossing away his musings.

Zero was currently handing the blond noble over to the jailors when the prisoner blinked himself awake and took in his surroundings. His blue eyes swept over the high ceiling, the hunters watching him from all around and the large, double doors just a few paces away. As the jailors surrounded him and Zero walked away, his panic mounted. Madly, he shoved past the jailors and darted for the door; blood drops spilled from his wounds to speckle the floor. A shout of alarm rose up among the jailors and hunters all over the room drew their weapons. The blond was a foot from the door when a black-clad shadow neatly intercepted him and drove her fist into his stomach.

Ichiru had not seen her move. The blond vampire doubled over Shizuka's fist, coughing up blood and stumbling to the floor. Several blood stained papers fell from his coat. Weakly, he scrambled back, looking up at Shizuka in wide-eyed terror.

"Shadow-sama!" some of the hunters greeted in surprise and awe. The jailors hurried forward, thanking Shizuka with praising eyes as they restrained the noble and pulled him from the room. Shizuka nodded once, then paused, looking down at the papers. She picked them up and turned away, shuffling through them as she strode back to Ichiru's side.

From up close, he realized at once; something was wrong.

"Ichiru…" she said slowly, the warded words inaudible to everyone but her assistant. "It seems that the noble vampire you saw just now…is going to die suddenly sometime soon."

"What?" Ichiru asked, his brow furrowing. "Isn't he going to be interrogated?"

"Hmm, yes," she replied, "that would be the official process. They will get his wounds in order and lock him in a cell to be questioned on the morrow. Most of the Association's hunters will retire as the morning ends, leaving this place empty. If I am correct, he will miraculously 'escape' and in the chaos of recapturing him, he will be killed." Her hand fisted around the documents, crumpling them. "You are to remain here and when most of the hunters leave, break him out," she instructed softly. "We will initiate this assassination before the assassins are prepared to carry it out. Fake his death and spirit him out of this place, Ichiru. Otherwise the information he holds will never be acquired."

"Are you saying there is some sort of conspiracy?" Ichiru questioned.

"Such is to be expected in this war-ravaged world," she whispered. "I knew eight years ago that corruption existed in this place; it seems that it is time for me to find it and…exploit it to the utmost."

"Well, then," Ichiru said, drawing a low breath. "I will follow your orders exactly. You can rely on me to get him away from the Association."

"Present yourself as his benefactor," she advised impassively. "It will be easier to lead him to safety than to drag his unconscious body. You might find a use for him as well."

"Understood," he nodded, a thrill running through him. With this, he would finally have a chance to prove his worth to her. "Where will you be, if I may ask?"

"I have some things to take care of," she told him, her hand tightening on the already abused documents. "I intend to investigate the building's records for a correlation…but I might be questioning some people as well." She shoved the papers into her coat pocket and closed the distance between them. "Take care and do not think for a moment that these hunters are any less vicious than a blood-starved vampire." She paused, placing a gloved hand on his cheek. "Well, perhaps I don't need to tell you that. You already know."

o0O0o

Aido drew a low, rasping breath. His entire body felt heavy, his limbs too weak to raise. He was lying on some sort of hard pallet, a haze of pain distorting his thought processes. Someone had tended to his injuries but it would be a fair amount of time before the anti-vampire magic wore off and his wounds healed. He was aware that he had come very close to death.

According to the kind hunters who had graciously given him a recap of the battle, Ruka and Kain had both escaped. Ruka had used her power of animating objects to briefly take over the redhead and using him as a distraction, escaped with Kain. She had been screaming for Aido to get up because she knew that she could not save him otherwise. Again, if the generous hunters were to be believed, the dark-haired one had injured her fairly well before she got away.

Aido cracked open his eyes, met by the blurry vision of a gray ceiling above. He was beyond relieved for them; they would be able to find Kaname and warn him about the planned attack. Their family would not be systematically slaughtered by a hoard of war-hungry hunters. Until this point, Aido had strived to sympathize with Cross Kaien and Kaname's desire for peace but at the moment he could only wish for the deaths of every hunter alive.

He most likely would not be wishing for long. The accursed humans had taken him to their headquarters- the Association itself. If he got out of here, he would have to fight the swarms of hunters within; of course, surviving such an attempt would be impossible. He might as well just die now before they decided to torture him.

How should he kill himself? he wondered miserably. The wards in the room were so thick that he could barely move much less summon his ice powers. He opened his eyes wider, thankful that the cell had no windows with which to admit the sun's light. His pallet was nothing but a mattress without a blanket. The room was empty but for the cell door and stone walls all around. It seemed that his only choice was to bash his own head in.

Aido closed his eyes again, a wave of hysteria making his mouth curve upward. He could not do it. At this rate, he might end up betraying Kaname's secrets but he still could not do it. He wanted to cry.

"Eh, you don't look well enough to stand up much less escape."

The light voice startled Aido into sitting up. Immediately, pain wracked through his torso and he clenched his teeth to keep from crying out. He looked towards the tiny, barred window on the door of his cell, half expecting to see Silver Hair staring in on him. In the darkness, he could just make out the shape of a hooded figure, lips stretched in a mocking smile. He threw out the idea of seeing Silver Hair again; the stoic hunter could not possibly have it in him to make such an expression. If he did, it was too frightening to think about.

"Who are you?" Aido said- or tried to. His voice rasped so badly that it came out more as a series of scratchy coughs. Moving made thirst burn in his throat; if he could only have some blood, his injuries would heal much more quickly.

"Were you trying to talk?" his visitor asked curiously. "What a terrible condition. Did Zero do that to you?" He paused and Aido heard the sound of jingling keys. "No matter. I am here to help so put yourself at ease."

"Help?" Aido echoed and this time, he was at least somewhat coherent.

"But of course," the hooded man assured him, opening the cell door and stepping inside; he left the door open. "Am I not the classically suspicious person, dressed all in black, coming to rescue a doomed prisoner in nearly impossible circumstances?" As the visitor stepped closer, Aido recognized his clothing with a jolt. "You're…!"

"The Shadow's assistant," the hunter grinned, "at your service."

"Why…why would the Shadow want me free of this place?" Aido managed to ask, cautiously edging away as his self-proclaimed benefactor advanced.

"Oh, because the Association is planning to kill you before you can be interrogated- or someone in the Association is." The assistant paused. "I'm actually not too clear on the details. Shadow-sama saw the documents you dropped and told me to spring you. Fair enough?"

"What? So the Association is trying to cover their tracks?" Aido coughed. He had only discovered those documents by chance but it was hardly in his best interest to say so. Then again, what did the Shadow plan to do with him once he was free of the Association's clutches? His terrifying encounter with the legendary fighter whispered to him that her designs might be much, much worse.

"We can presume so," the assistant affirmed amiably. "Now stop shrinking away from me and let me have a look at those wounds, can you?" Tensely, Aido watched as the hooded hunter looked him over.

"Bullet wounds _and _cuts? It has to have been Zero." The assistant laughed quietly under his breath. "Well, I'm not _quite _sure about this spell- it might help you and it might make you permanently disabled…but let's try it."

"What?" Aido demanded in alarm but the assistant's hands were already hovering over his chest, emitting a pale light. Abruptly, strands of blue hunter magic sizzled out of the wound, absorbed by the hooded hunter's hands. The blond felt his injuries begin to close, the pain fading away. He stared at his benefactor in awe. Had the assistant just absorbed the hunter magic out of his body?

"Ha, we're in luck," the hunter grinned. "Last time I tried that on a vampire, he got severe burns all over his body. And he wouldn't stop screaming for three days; terrible. Maybe it works better on nobles than on ex-humans."

"How did you do that?" Aido asked, his voice stronger now that he was healed. "There is no such spell!"

"None of your business, is it?" the assistant scoffed, grabbing Aido's arm and yanking him to his feet. "Now let's go."

The blond released an irritated huff. "I don't even know what you're planning to do to me once we leave the Association," he pointed out.

"Well, if you're willing to give Shadow-sama a complete synopsis of your mission, your purpose and the documents you found- I suppose we will let you go," the hooded hunter shrugged, heading for the door.

"How do I know that you are telling the truth?" The assistant glanced back at him. "Well, you could always stay here. If I torture the information out of you now and then leave you to the assassins coming after you, that would be fine also. I will just be a little more pressed for time. Say, what part of your body are you most afraid of having hacked off?"

Aido turned green, well aware that the anti-vampire wards in the cell would make it nearly impossible for him to fight back- healed or not. "Point taken. I'm coming already."

The assistant grinned and motioned for him to follow, stealthily creeping out the door into the dim hallway. "Just watch yourself, noble," he warned quietly. "If Shadow-sama's suspicion was right- and I'd stake my life that it was- we're going to have company."


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four: Brittle Glass

Zero sighed, looking about the common room with resignation. Hunters lounged here and there, chatting and telling stories. The wooden tables, comfortable chairs and dim atmosphere was set off by the bar at one end of the room where an amiable man was mixing drinks.

"What's the matter, Kiryuu?" Kaito asked with a grin. "Don't you drink?"

"I'm only eighteen, you know," Zero told him with a bland expression.

"Eh, it's fine," the redhead assured him. "I owe you one for knocking me right in the head back there; I'll buy and no one will ask questions. Isn't that right, Shishou?"

The dark-haired hunter had followed them from the missions department with the unobtrusive air of a chaperon intent on keeping two kids out of trouble. Zero hardly needed someone to watch him but then again, if Kaito was his company, perhaps a chaperon was not such a bad idea.

Despite their peculiarities, Zero actually liked both Kaito and Yagari. Perhaps he had just never really _talked _with anyone but Ichiru and Shizuka for…his entire life. Talking to Ichiru was no unpleasant thing but conversations between them had the same predictability as Zero would find in conversations with himself. Talking to Shizuka, of course, _was _an unpleasant thing and contrasted with the soft-voiced, malicious, excessively eloquent pureblood vampire, Kaito was a loud-mouthed blessing. As for Yagari Touga, the man had a stoic responsibility to him that made him seem both reliable and competent. Though he did not speak nearly so much as his apprentice, Zero liked him with no reservations.

"It's better to drink now and get used to it," Yagari advised Zero. "Sooner or later, someone will badger you into coming here regardless."

"There you have it," Kaito concluded, cheerfully shoving Zero down into a chair. "Now stay here and I'll be right back." He went to go visit the bar, leaving Zero alone with Yagari.

"Care to answer a question, kid?" Yagari asked Zero, one eyebrow raised. Zero shrugged noncommittally in reply; the other took that as an affirmative. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"My father taught me," the younger hunter answered truthfully; Akihiro had 'taught' Zero only at the order of his pureblood mistress but it had been a good instruction all the same.

"You're very skilled for someone your age," the dark-haired hunter complimented mildly. "The spells you use are peculiar though; I've never heard of them."

"It's been a while since anyone in my family was in the Association," Zero brushed off. "My spells are probably just outdated."

"Ah." Yagari shrugged.

In truth, Zero had only memorized a few of Ichiru's invented spells- and he had a feeling that his twin had deigned not to share even half of them. No, that honor went to Shizuka who was constantly stealing his brother away for private conversations- leeching the knowledge away from Ichiru with an insatiable greed. Zero struggled to keep a scowl off of his face and moodily accepted the drink Kaito handed him upon returning.

"Hears to Kiryuu," Kaito joked, raising his drink in a mock toast, "for beating the shit out of vampires, for beating the shit out of me and for having silver hair!"

"He would not have had to fight you, Kaito, had you not succumbed to that vampire's power," Yagari reminded his apprentice, taking a sip from his glass regardless.

"Eh, what can I say?" Kaito brushed off. "She was pretty."

Zero took a long drink, grimacing at the bitter taste of the spirits. "Do all nobles have such varied powers?" he asked mildly.

"They learn to specialize when they are younger," Yagari told him. "Most of those abilities are passed down through their families."

"I see…" Zero replied.

"Oh, that's right," Kaito said suddenly, "you're new here, right, Kiryuu? That means the noble you defeated today was your first one?" When Zero nodded in affirmation, he continued, "You should go to the rankings department then soon- tomorrow should be fine."

"You defeated a level B with little trouble so your ability ranking as a hunter will also be 'B'," Yagari told him. "Your ability ranking is basically the level of the most powerful vampire you can beat in one on one combat. 'B' is the highest rank most hunters ever reach though the skillful ones can earn 2B or 3B- meaning they can defeat two or three nobles by themselves."

"I'm 'B' like you," Kaito told Zero as the silver-haired hunter processed the information, "but it took me a hell of a lot longer to earn it." He grinned. "Maybe I should bash your head in to defeat the competition- and rest assured, I fight a lot better when I'm not in thrall. You won't beat me so easily."

"Save talk like that for the sparring ring," Yagari admonished blandly.

"You said 'ability rank'," Zero recalled, "is there another sort of ranking?"

"Correct- a prowess ranking," the older hunter affirmed. "That is calculated every time you turn in a report- level E's and D's are worth five points, commoners are worth ten and nobles are worth one hundred. Eh, I suppose a pureblood is worth one thousand but the few people who are strong enough to kill purebloods don't often bother with the scores and the rest of us. The prowess ranking and ability ranking are what determine pay and eligibility for advancement through the hunter ranks; the titans of our Association already have that and correspondingly, no need for scores."

"Thank you for telling me," Zero said. With a score and a rank assigned to it, killing vampires almost felt like a game. At least it was the sort of game that Zero would enjoy playing.

"You're rank B so you can get solo missions," Kaito grinned, "not to mention the occasional ones that are top priority. After you get your rank assigned tomorrow, you should come with me to the missions department and well see what they have."

"You should heal up a bit first, don't you think, Kaito?" Yagari said lowly. "Or are you hoping that enough alcohol will numb you to the point of not being effected by it?"

"I'm fine, Shishou," Kaito muttered.

"Not yet," his mentor said quietly, "and not until you get over what has been bothering you. You could have done better today."

"I said I'm fine," the redhead growled. "Lay off."

Zero remained silent, sensing that it was none of his business. Kaito glared at his mentor for a while and Yagari stared back for a moment before returning to his drink with an impassive expression. The redhead let out a irate breath.

"Don't listen to him, Kiryuu," Kaito said to Zero. "He worries like an old granny. Soon he'll be telling me to drink milk and get enough sleep every night."

They chatted for several hours, the common room growing emptier but Kaito's stories and questions only becoming more interesting the more drunk the redhead got. Zero limited himself to two glasses, blandly watching as Kaito gestured wildly with both hands in his story telling. Yagari had long since leaned back in his chair, tipping his hat over his face and saying nothing more; Zero suspected the elder hunter had fallen asleep.

After finishing the wild tale of a recent battle- in which, coincidently, the Shadow had taken part, Kaito paused. "Hey, isn't the Shadow seriously hot?" he asked, impressively managing not to slur the words too badly as he spoke. "What?" Zero repeated flatly.

"She's hot," Kaito told him. "You saw her today, didn't you? The way she punched that noble in the gut and knocked him out before he even knew she was there- _damn_! If I was half as strong as she was, I'd even have Shishou bowing down to me! But if you get passed the crazy-scary look she has going on, she's got a seriously nice figure!"

"I'm sure she wears a mask to hide how hideous her face is," Zero deadpanned.

Kaito laughed raucously at that. "You're hilarious, Kiryuu. You can't really think that. Anyone so mysterious and quiet all the time _must _be sexy as hell."

"Unless she never talks to conceal a terrible personality," the silver-haired hunter supplied.

Kaito paused, considering it for a moment. Then he shook his head. "Nah." He launched into another tale of the Shadow's exploits, apparently concerned that Zero- the new guy- might not properly understand the legendary hunter's universally accepted 'awesomeness' .

Zero was not sure what was worse- listening to Kaito's recollections of Shizuka's feats or listening to Kaito's retelling of Yagari's stories of the _original _Shadow's feats. Was it too much to ask for an evening away from everything Zero absolutely hated?

He sighed and decided to get another drink.

o0O0o

"Eh?!" the noble vampire choked out in dismay- though, Ichiru would give him credit, in a hushed voice. "You knocked out all three of them by yourself?!"

The noble was staring down at the dungeon guards who lay sprawled across the floor in various positions of slumber. The barred door that led up to the ground floor of the Association main building was open as Ichiru had left it. Otherwise, the only thing of note in the room was a desk and a button on the wall that would activate an alarm.

"Of course not," Ichiru scoffed. "They would have seen me, had I done that and I'm hardly going to let Shadow-sama be implicated for this. These guards have been here drinking all morning- when a servant came to bring them refills, I drugged their drinks."

"Oh." The noble blinked, probably feeling quite stupid- considering his flushed cheeks. "That was clever."

"Yes," Ichiru agreed amiably, "obviously. Now prepare yourself." He crossed the room, stepping over a guard and reaching out for the button.

"Gah! What do you think you're doing?!" the noble exclaimed, his whispered voice frantic. "That's the alarm! A hoard will descend upon us!"'

"Actually, most of the hunters here have already gone home," Ichiru told him casually, glancing over his shoulder. "It's just the assassins and an occasional drunk wandering about this late in the day. Once I activate the alarm, run upstairs and kill anyone who tries to stop you. I'll be right behind you- and unless you want to wander about lost in this building with killers after you, wait for me before dashing off. Got it?"

"_Don't_. _Press_. _The_. _Alarm_," the noble insisted, his blue eyes wide.

"Yes? Good," Ichiru grinned, pressing the button.

A sustained bell-like sound immediately rang through the building, shattering the silence. The guard next to Ichiru's booted foot snorted in his sleep. The noble vampire sucked in a sharp breath and quickly ran up the stairs.

Ichiru followed behind more leisurely, ascending to the ground floor in stealth. The assassins were likely to be good- who would send incompetent weaklings after a noble? It was far better to approach them from an angle other than head-on- and that meant lurking behind the obvious target.

It was not long before the fugitive vampire found trouble.

The lonely hallway's electric lights were off and shadows collected wherever the walls lacked windows. The effect led to a dim atmosphere, the gloom broken occasionally by brilliant pools of afternoon sunlight. As the vampire nervously slunk along through the heart of his enemies' headquarters, he cringed away from the light. Ichiru watched as he paused, his vampire eyes squinting to penetrate a patch of sunlight up ahead. His hunter 'benefactor' smiled, knowing very well what the noble had sensed.

"Get ready to dodge a knife throw, noble," the Shadow's assistant murmured, his voice far too soft for any human to hear.

The noble tensed, moving at an inhuman speed out of the way as a knife sliced through the air toward him from the sunlight ahead. It missed, clanging into the stone wall of the hall and falling harmlessly to the floor.

"You don't look that half-dead to me, vampire," a woman's voice commented. A moment later, its owner strolled out into the shadows, regarding the noble with a flat stare. "Were you faking the extent of your injuries earlier? I thought the Shadow had rendered you nearly useless."

"Not so useless that I can't beat you," the noble retorted. Immediately, he raised one hand, shards of ice shooting from his fingertips. A hiss of steal sounded as she pulled her katana free from its sheath, dodging some of the shards and slashing the others from the air. Then she was darting forward, swinging her blade at the blond-haired vampire. He ducked out of the way, spinning to catch her wrist. Ice formed around her arm before she slashed at him again and broke away.

Several paces apart, they regarded each other; the hunter woman smashed her frozen arm against the wall until the ice shattered. She shook her hand, her fingers red from the cold. Ichiru began to unhurriedly murmur a soft spell under his breath, watching the proceedings casually from the shadows.

"You should hope that I _do _defeat you, noble," the female hunter said to Aido with a harsh smile. "I have a bet going with my associates; we will all fight you one-on-one to see who can beat you first. If you kill me, then you will have three others to get by."

"I don't care," the blond told her, his blue eyes narrowed, "I'm going to get out of here no matter what."

"Sure," she laughed. "Allow me to send you to a better place."

As she lunged forward to once more attack however, her eyes widened. Slowly, in line with her motion, she pitched forward as though the grould had suddenly lurched beneath her feet and sent her reeling. She collapsed to the ground, the glow of wards in the ancient language glinting around her once and then disappearing. She struggled to rise but every time left her collapsing again. The noble stared at her in amazement.

"You did that?" he demanded of Ichiru, raising his eyes to where the Shadow's assistant lurked.

"Hurry and kill her," Ichiru instructed lightly. "She's helpless now."

"Who?" the hunter woman choked out, clutching her sword tightly in one hand. "Who's there?"

"What…?" the vampire faltered rather than comply with his orders. "You just attacked your own fellow from behind- and now you want me to kill her?"

"In theory, an escaped vampire would kill opposition, would it not?" Ichiru sighed. "I'll kill as many hunters as it takes to sustain this lie; I work for Shadow-sama, not the Association, after all. Besides, this woman's fate is her own fault for not being warded properly against mental attacks."

He could not rest the blame entirely on the hunter woman's shoulders; he had spent years learning to imitate vampire spells so as to be effective at attacking his own kind. Shizuka's help had been invaluable.

The blond noble released a harsh breath, then raised one hand. A spear of ice shot from his palm to pierce through the hunter's heart. She let out a strangled cry, her eyes widening to their fullest extent as blood flowed from her chest. She thrashed violently for a moment, then stilled.

"If you feel that way," the noble said to Ichiru, "then _I_ certainly have no qualms against killing hunters. These _bastards _intend to slaughter my entire family fives days from now."

"Sou ka?" Ichiru replied blandly, not really caring. "That's terrible. With all this finished, shall we be on our way?"

o0O0o

Shizuka reclined motionlessly in the green, velvet chair, staring impassively forward. The office was luxurious, the large desk in its center made of polished wood and bookshelves lining the walls. Large windows were positioned here and there at regular intervals but the curtains were drawn and even the powerful, afternoon sunlight could not struggle past the thick fabric. It reminded the disguised pureblood of a vampire noble's home- with its rich furnishings and shadowed interior. That was peculiar because the office belonged to the president of the Association of Hunters.

She could not find it within herself to be surprised. She had already run her gloved hands across every inch of the room and read every document within the locked, warded desk drawers. No item to be found was nearly so telling as the faint, familiar and sickly sweet scent of a certain person's pure blood.

It stood to reason that there was corruption in the Association. It stood to reason that the androgynous, secretive Association President was near the root of it. Shizuka had simply not expected the treachery to reach this extent. Truly, in the Shadow's black clothes- skin she had peeled off of her enemy's corpse- she felt clean and altruistic compared to the filth surrounding her. If her theory was correct, however, she had only to gain from it.

He did not notice her when he entered the room. Shizuka was quieter, stiller and her chair faced away from the door. She was also a more powerful vampire.

The Association President remained oblivious to her presence until he was several feet away from her chair. He paused for a moment, then walked around his desk and seated himself opposite to her, meeting her black-veiled gaze.

"Shadow-san," he greeted warmly, a fan in one hand and his eyes gleaming in the shadows. "What a pleasant surprise." When met with silence, he continued, "I do not see your assistant about."

Shizuka tilted her head to one side, regarding him. His white hair was not a result of old age- it was one of those rare vampire genes that sometimes presented itself within hunter families. His pale green eyes were intelligent but beyond their complacent appearance, malice and deceit lurked within their gaze. His skin was unblemished and pale as milk. Perhaps one who was not put off by his genderless manner could find him beautiful.

She replied to his comment in her own voice. "He is occupied by another task," she murmured, her words so soft that a human might have had difficulty catching them.

"So you speak to me yourself?" the president queried, his eyebrows arching upward. "I am honored." His sly smile was nearly hidden by the fan he held to his chin. "You have a beautiful voice, Shadow-san."

"Why…thank you," she replied and even he was not foolish enough to miss the dangerous intent in her visit- with those words. "I most certainly hope that my presence here has not inconvenienced you."

"Of course not," he assured her. "It is late in the day but humans are naturally diurnal creatures; I can remain awake to hear whatever my important ally has to say."

"You are too kind." She stood, moving soundlessly to a heavily curtained window and inspecting the thick cloth. "I merely wished to inquire over your confidence in me. Though I do not work directly for you, you still include me in many of your councils. Do you trust me, Mr. President?"

"You are a mysterious person, Shadow-san," he informed her, "but your desire to kill vampires is as sincere as any within this place. Correspondingly, I would trust you as much as any of the powerful hunters here."

With her back to him, Shizuka's lips twisted into a harsh smile. It was an ironic conversation.

"Sou," she murmured. "You may trust me. I am unwaveringly faithful to the Association, after all. I hope you remember that in difficult times." She turned, smiling a him. "The noble that was caught today- he is Aido Hanabusa, son of a noble family serving Kuran Kaname. Discovering him ransacking Association records for his master seems…dangerous. Is that pureblood taking an interest in the war, I wonder?"

"All purebloods are involved with the war, Shadow-san," the president stated calmly. "Even those who sleep watch us through half-lidded eyes."

"I see…" she mused.

"Perhaps, if he interferes directly, I will ask you to dispose of him?" The offer was delivered from curving lips. "May I do that?"

"Without a doubt," she answered. "Killing a pureblood…is something I am quite eager to do again." She phrased her words carefully. "Their blood contains much power."

The president's eyes gleamed. "It does indeed." He looked up, distracted for a moment. She knew the reason; he had just caught the scent of blood. Downstairs, a hunter had perished. "I wonder if that escaped vampire will be caught soon," he murmured.

"It is better not to let him run loose," she replied, "but I think that noble will not live much longer. I sent my assistant to deal with him." She seized both halves of the curtain and flung it open, allowing the noon sunlight to flood inside with stinging brilliance. She turned to face the level D vampire, watching as he struggled not to cringe from the sudden, solar light. It was painfully warm against her back yet it failed to shine through her. "It does poorly to sit within a dark room," she told her fellow hypocrite with a cruel smile. "Good day, Mr. President."

o0O0o

Aido glanced down at the second assassin, frost still collecting on his hands from their recent combat. The dead hunter was tall, his long coat stained at the collar with blood from a gash in his throat. Once again, the Shadow's assistant had struck from behind Aido, throwing a knife skillfully and killing the noble's assailant with one blow. It irked the blond that his benefactor could contentedly stroll along behind him while _he _got to combat all of the vicious hunters intent on murdering him but he had to admit, having his opponents spontaneously drop dead at random moments made escaping much easier.

"This is far enough," the Shadow's assistant said suddenly. "We need to fake your death; if any more of the assassins get hurt, it won't be plausible."

"How are you going to fake my death?" Aido asked uneasily. He still _definitely _did not trust this guy. He had already resolved to run for it as soon as he was clear of the Association. To hell with the Shadow's 'friendly' interrogation.

"Just switch clothes with him," the hooded young hunter instructed, his voice as casual and calm as it had been all afternoon. "I updated Shadow-sama on our progress; she will take care of the rest."

"So…" Aido paused, processing the assistant's words, "you want me to take off this dead hunter's clothes, take off _my _clothes and then dress him up in them?"

"That _was _the implication, I believe," the assistant nodded, his eyes impossible to see in the shadow of his hood.

Aido gritted his teeth and knelt down to strip the dead hunter. Why was he even going through with this? It was ridiculous. Sure, the creepy assistant guy had managed to absorb all the hunter magic out of his wounds, completely healing him- but the idiot had activated the alarm! And sure, neither of them had died yet but even so, escaping meant Aido had to deliver himself nicely into the Shadow's dusty clutches. Now, in accordance with the assistant's brilliant master plan, Aido was pulling the clothes off of a corpse like some disgusting, _homosexual _necrophiliac.

Turning green as he managed to pull the hunter's bloody coat off and moved on to the hunter's belt, Aido fixed his blue eyes on his 'benefactor'. "Care to help?" he suggested irately.

"I'm busy keeping an eye out for more danger," explained the ever-reasonable assistant patiently. "If I assist you and another hunter comes along, what do you suppose we should do?"

"Tch," Aido growled, yanking off the corpse's boots and then his pants. With all the clothes of the dead hunter, the blond noble allowed himself a moment of self-congratulations. Then he realized he had yet to take his own clothes off. Comparatively easy as such a task should be, there was still a hooded, black-clad bastard of a hunter _watching _him from a few paces away. He looked up to glare at the assistant.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the assistant said mockingly, "should I turn my back while the princess gets dressed?"

"Go to hell," Aido snarled under his breath, turning _his _back and angrily taking off his sword-damaged coat. For a noble vampire to be degraded like this in front of some nobody hunter- it was unforgivable.

"Even if you're a vampire, you're not so pretty that I'll get off from looking at you," his 'benefactor' droned.

Aido changed into the dead hunter's clothes and mechanically began the process of stuffing the corpse's lifeless limbs into his own clothes. At one point, the Shadow's assistant wandered off down the hall and disappeared. He returned a few minutes later however and answered Aido's questioning look with a shrug.

"A couple of drunks were coming this way," he explained. "I convinced them that a different route was better. Are you done yet?"

"Almost," Aido replied, releasing a breath of annoyance. He smashed his boots onto the dead hunter's feet and hurriedly tied the laces before standing up. "Good enough?"

"Perfect," the hooded hunter praised, his smile so sincere as to hide the sarcasm it obviously contained. "Come here; I need to restrict your aura a bit."

"I can do it better than you can," Aido scoffed, biting out a quick incantation to reduce his vampiric presence. It became muted, barely noticeable in the back of his mind.

"That's not nearly good enough," the assistant disagreed, closing the distance between them and passing his hand over Aido's face. He spoke quietly under his breath for a few moments. Abruptly, Aido felt his aura completely disappear- it was gone. He could not sense it himself.

"How did you do that?" the blond demanded. Closer to the assistant than he had been before, he noticed something strange; the shadows lurking beneath the assistant's hood did not waver. Aido's vampire eyes should have easily been able to penetrate the darkness and see through to the assistant's face- but they could not. Was there a spell on the hood too? Or…was this servant of the Shadow made of nothing but hollow blackness? Aido shook away the foolish thought, glaring at his faceless 'benefactor'.

"Don't be too amazed," the assistant dismissed in response to Aido's question. "Powerful hunters will still be able to sense you; you can probably fool the average ones into thinking you're a human now though. Let's go- we need to be out of here quickly." The hooded hunter led the way now, his walk purposeful as he moved down the corridor. Aido hastened to follow along, glancing back warily at the corpse they left behind.

"What if someone finds that?" he questioned uneasily. "It will be gone in a moment," his 'benefactor' replied without concern.

They had hardly turned the corner when two more hunters confronted them. From the guarded and unsurprised expressions on their faces, Aido guessed that they were the last of the assassins.

"It is unexpected for you to get this far, vampire," the hunter on the left told the noble, "but it seems you had some help. You, there!" he addressed the assistant. "Show yourself."

The assistant paused, regarding him for a moment. Then he drew his katana in one smooth motion and seized Aido from behind. The blond noble inhaled sharply, feeling the blade against his throat.

"You…!" he hissed in shock and anger.

"Good evening," the assistant said to the hunters with a smile. "As a favor to the Association President, my master, Shadow-sama ordered me to assist this vampire in escaping. Hurry and kill him; then we can be done with this game."

"Why would the president involve the Shadow in this?" the hunter on the right asked, drawing closer regardless. He held a gun in one hand, its barrel pointed at Aido's head. "It is a mission for Association personnel only."

"You should ask him that," the Shadow's assistant scoffed. "Are you done wasting my time with pointless questions?"

Aido was quite sure then that the blade at his throat was a ruse. Inconspicuously, he summoned frost into one hand.

The gun-wielding hunter shrugged in response to the assistant;s words. "Yeah, fine. I'll do it."

"What's going on here?" The newcomer's voice paused the hunter in the act of pointing his gun somewhere between Aido's eyes. He turned towards the new voice- and that's when the Shadow's assistant chose to move.

Quick as a flash, the katana was gone from Aido's throat, it's pommel reversed and slamming into the gun-wielding hunter's temple. Knocked unconscious, the hunter fell to the floor with a thud. The other assassin let out a startled shout, yanking a short blade from his belt and darting forward. The assistant met the attack easily, the clang of steel against steel ringing through the hall. As Aido moved forward to intercept the newcomer- doubtlessly an uninvolved hunter staying late- he paused in shocked recognition. The newcomer, moving swiftly towards the fight with blade drawn, was Silver Hair!

Aido gritted his teeth, raising one hand to shoot shards of ice at his enemy. Then he gaped in disbelief as Silver Hair stoically rapped the flat of his blade over the last assassin's head. The assassin slid to the floor, unconscious as his fellow.

"Zero," the Shadow's assistant greeted amiably. "Thank goodness you stopped by; I never could have managed without you." Aido thought he heard a bit of sarcasm in the hooded hunter's voice.

"Ichiru, what are you doing?" Silver Hair demanded, fixing Aido with a gaze that threatened death. "You're helping him escape?"

"At Shadow-sama's orders, of course," the assistant brushed off, kneeling down beside the fallen hunter. He placed a hand over the assassin's forehead, his palm glowing with a faint light. "Since you're still here, help me get him out of the Association, won't you? We have pretty much taken care of all our opposition but I'm not so sure he is willing to come with me at this point."

"What is that woman thinking?" Silver Hair growled. "She is here somewhere, isn't she? Surely she didn't make you do something this dangerous on your own."

"Why? Because only Zero is worthy enough go on dangerous missions?" the assistant- apparently named 'Ichiru'- retorted caustically.

"That's not what I meant," Silver Hair denied as Ichiru indifferently moved to the next, fallen assassin.

"Shouldn't Silver Hair be working for the Association, just like the assassins?" Aido interrupted warily.

"'Silver Hair'?" the assistant repeated. He laughed. "Hah. No; he's my stand-in. If I randomly die, he will take my place and no one will know the difference. Right, Silver Hair?"

"You shouldn't bother talking with this vampire idiot," Silver Hair sighed. He stilled looked angry and his glare had not grown any less murderous. Aido sneered back at him, itching to ram a spear of ice through his silver topped head.

"Whatever," Ichiru scoffed, standing up. "Let's go, noble; it's not safe here."

Aido had no choice but to follow them. He was tenser than before, however. Silver Hair was the 'Zero' that the assistant had referred to before; what layers of intrigue concealed the Association's true intentions when a common hunter could just casually knock out his fellow in the name of the Shadow? Aido _had _to get away from them as soon as possible; he had to get back to Kaname. There was too much the pureblood needed to know. Besides, Aido's family was waiting.

Ahead of him, Silver Hair stumbled and caught himself with one hand on the wall. He cursed softly under his breath. Ichiru gave him a curious look.

"Zero…" the Shadow's assistant said slowly, "are you…drunk?"

"Of course not," Silver Hair denied at once, straightening. "The sunlight is blinding me; that's all. Look, that side door over there leads out. Let's go."

The afternoon brilliance stung Aido's eyes excruciatingly as they left behind the hellish Association; it was a welcome sight however, not matter how painful. The city beyond the Association's walls was bustling with activity and better yet, crowds to blend into and buildings to hide inside. Ichiru and Silver Hair emerged from the Association after him, the latter glancing behind him to make sure they had not been followed. Now, before the two lackeys of the Shadow could hinder him, Aido needed to run for his life. He drew a deep breath of winter air, preparing to bolt for the Kurans' mansion at inhuman speed.

Silver Hair stepped forward pressed the barrel of his gun to the back of Aido's head. "Try it," he dared the noble lowly.

"I'm not going anywhere," Aido snapped, his anxiety making his lie poor. "I agreed to answer the Shadow's questions- _that's _when I'll leave, as per the deal."

"And since we are as honorable as you are," Ichiru replied with his shadowed, mocking smile, "we'll be sure to let you go."

It was not a spell that Aido knew- and so the noble had little chance of countering it. It drained the strength from his limbs and made even his eyelids heavy. He fell to his knees and then to the hard, paved earth beneath him. He stared at Silver Hair's boots, trying to find the power somewhere to stand up. He thought he summoned a bit of ice but the frost did nothing more than chill the already cold pavement, spreading from his palms like spider webs. Then darkness swam across his vision, dragging his mind into unconsciousness.

o0O0o

"I don't like locking someone up in here," Zero commented, warily stepping into the familiar basement room of their parents' house.

The blond vampire he had defeated earlier that morning was unconscious on the floor, not too far from the treasure pile of tattered, decaying books that decorated the room. Dust had descended in a filmy layer upon each of the once well-loved tomes, eight years of neglect making them look older and rattier than ever. Once again inside the windowless world of his childhood, Zero felt an inexplicable tension rise inside of him. The feeling was irrational panic, growing stronger with each passing second and screaming at him to grab Ichiru and run from this place. He suppressed it, with difficulty, keeping his eyes locked on his brother.

"Funny," Ichiru laughed quietly, pulling down his hood. "I was just thinking the opposite." He strolled about the room, looking completely comfortable as he murmured spells under his breath. He was warding the basement against vampires; the blond noble was not going to have a pleasant time of moving about when he woke up.

They had carried the vampire to their car in broad daylight, no one around to notice them in the deserted Association parking lot. Even with his blond hair, the vampire had been inconspicuous while lying motionlessly in the back seat. Ichiru had fretted over whether or not Shizuka would need a ride home for a small while before Zero shoved him into the car, got into the driver's seat and started for home. Pureblood vampires hardly needed such recent inventions as cars to get around, he had scathingly reminded his twin.

"This basement is perfect for locking people up," Ichiru continued, opening the door to their old bedroom and glancing inside. "We have our own private dungeon. The only thing we have to worry about is how to feed him…or whether or not to feed him, hah. We might not need him for very long."

"I'm sure you are not against murdering one more person from town," Zero stated blandly.

"A fair point," his twin shrugged. "In truth, having him could make my life a lot easier. I've always wanted a powerful vampire to experiment on. He responded differently to my 'healing spell', after all."

"What? That woman isn't good enough?" Zero scoffed.

"I would _never _experiment on Shizuka-sama," Ichiru stated flatly. "Why do you keep calling her 'that woman'? You've been doing it all night."

"I just don't feel like saying her name, that's all," the elder twin sighed. He was tired as hell but he doubted he would be able to sleep. Shizuka had carelessly sent his brother into danger and his anger was going to keep him wide awake no matter what he did. His head felt rather strange too; there was a slight buzzing in his ears. He shook his head to clear it, sighing once more.

"Are you _sure _you didn't drink too much, Zero?" Ichiru asked, his tenderly concerned smile not quite managing to hide the mirth in his eyes.

"I didn't drink that much," Zero shook his head. "Look; I'm going upstairs to get some water. Do you want anything?"

"Dinner, maybe," his twin speculated, "but only in an hour or so. You'll still be awake, right?"

"Probably," the elder nodded, turning to leave the basement room. He was not worried about leaving his brother alone with the vampire; with all the anti-vampire wards smothering the room, even Shizuka would get a queasy feeling in her stomach. The noble would not be able to stand.

Walking up the stairs made Zero slightly dizzy but he gritted his teeth, refusing to give into the feeling. He hated to admit it but Ichiru was probably right. He could not exactly remember how much alcohol he had downed while listening to Kaito's stories. He had been irritated and angry; he had just wanted to forget all about the pureblood vampire with her fist around his life.

"I'm an idiot," he breathed out as he walked through the hall, absently raking his fingers through his hair.

"Ara, did you have a bad day, Zero?"

He turned, his eyes met with the unwelcome sight of Shizuka watching him from the dining room. She was no longer wearing her black ensemble, her slender frame garbed in some of his mother's old clothes. She was seated beside the window, her cherry blossom eyes locked with his.

"Welcome home, Shizuka-_sama_," he said with a sarcastic, bitter smile and an unconvincingly cheery voice. He was not Ichiru; he could not fake friendliness or warmth towards someone he _hated_.

He blinked, surprised by his own thought. Did he hate Shizuka? It was not a question he could easily entertain. She was his savior- exactly as she was for Ichiru. She had opened that basement door eight years ago and nurtured the two of them, letting them grow and gain power. She had given them her blood and freedom both.

She had exploited them to the utmost, Ichiru especially, for the sole purpose of destroying everything. In Zero's mind, Ichiru was the savior. His brother had killed their mother. Shizuka was just a cause of that action. Shizuka was just a new oppressor they needed to escape from. He did not dwell on the situation because of Ichiru but if he opened his eyes and unflinchingly analyzed their life, wasn't this pureblood just going to get them both killed? Or would she devour them herself?

She was a danger to Ichiru and yes…Zero _hated _her.

"Are you alright?" the pureblood vampire murmured as he drew closer. "You look unsteady. I do not suggest indulging yourself too greatly in traditional hunter pass times."

"_I'm_ fine," Zero told her coldly. He stopped before the large, dining room table, regarding her across the polished wood surface. "It's Ichiru you should worry about. Today- I had two other hunters with me. But you sent him _alone _to get a vampire from the heart of the Association- while assassins hunted them both down!"

She raised an eyebrow. "There is no need to shout." Zero paused; he had not realized how loud his voice had gotten. "Moreover," she continued, "Ichiru is quite capable of doing what I asked. He succeeded, did he not?"

"Anything could have gone wrong," Zero bit out. "The vampire could have turned on him. The assassins could have come in greater numbers- you knew nothing about it yet you still sent him spring that vampire alone! What were you doing that was so important that you had to make Ichiru finish up your dirty work?!"

Shizuka laughed pityingly. "How about we talk in the morning, Zero? You don't seem to be in very good control right now."

"No, give me an answer right now," he demanded, slamming his hand down on the table.

"There, there," she soothed, rising and moving to stand on the other side of the table. "I was not far away. Had his blood been spilled, I would have noticed and been there to assist. Also, at any moment, he could have asked me to save him; his hood allows him to speak with me, no matter the distance. Ichiru is important to me too, child; you can trust me to protect him." Her explanations were reasonable, solid and infallible. It only made him angrier so he said the best thing he could think of to hurt her.

"Right," Zero laughed at her in scorn, "because you are so _good _at protecting people important to you."

She froze.

It must have been the first time that his words had ever even touched her. She regarded him every day with perpetual amusement, sometimes affection- more often condescension. His power was nothing to hers so she could laugh at him as much as she wanted and he could do nothing. His words now however, pierced through her more deeply than any weapon ever could. Reminding her of the beloved person she had lost to his mother's wires…nothing could hurt her more than that.

Her eyes stared directly into his and for a moment, he could see right through them into her soul. They were a window into a black hole, a gaping void of grief that was all-consuming and agonizingly empty. The color had completely drained from her face and in that moment, she seemed completely vulnerable and weak. She was an injured, maddened thing on the brink of death; the look on her face could make him believe that. Then she smiled. "What an adorable child you are, Zero," she stated, her voice hollow.

He knew what that meant. It was a threat- no, a promise. She was smiling but she looked like she was about to murder him- or tear his fingers off one by one. Whatever her plans, she was going to hurt him. He met her gaze impassively, finding it easier to glare into her smile than into the stricken expression of a moment ago. He did not flinch nor back away as she slowly walked around the table to him.

"What are you going to do?" he asked her lowly, challenging her with his eyes. "Hit me? Smash my head open against the wall? Go ahead."

She laughed, inches away from him now; the soft sound was like brittle glass. "Do you honestly think that is the worst I can do?"

Her eyes flitted to a point over his shoulder. Then she released a low breath and crushed her mouth to his.

Zero froze, stunned shock and revulsion making his body rigid. Her slender arms wrapped around him, one curling around his waist and drawing him close, the other reaching up to let her fingers fist in his hair. Her tongue shoved into his mouth, her lips molding with bruising force against his. The scent of cherry blossoms hung about her; he wanted to gag. With horrified, disbelieving eyes, he stared back at her; her gaze was unreadable, boring into him with cold, unfeeling cruelty.

She drew back, mockingly trailing one hand down his face in a light caress. Then she leaned close and whispered, "You are facing the wrong way, Zero." She took his shoulders and spun him around-

-to meet the gaze of Ichiru who stood frozen in the doorway, horror, shock and envy written clear on his face.


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five: A Mad Existence

_~Three Years Ago~_

_Shizuka sighed leisurely, letting her head fall to one side against the soft armchair she had recently ensconced herself in. The study windows were open, allowing pale moonlight to drift into the room and fall upon the pages of the book she held. The paper was crisp beneath her fingers, its characters precise and unnaturally uniform- the product of a modern age. More of its kind filled the room in a sort of haphazard clutter that spanned the shelves and stack by stack conquered every horizontal surface. The study had been nearly empty when Shizuka had first come to possess the Kiryuu's house. Saika and Akihiro had entertained a careful and barren décor, their study holding nothing but a laptop and several books. The new 'owner' of the room had grown up with only a mountain of books to be called an 'organized library'. Even as he hoarded more and more written words into the room, Ichiru cast them about and rifled through them in a constant flurry of obsessed haste._

_The desk- several paces away from Shizuka- was covered in messily scrawled notes and crumpled papers. To the unknowing eye, the product of Ichiru's work would perhaps seem to be a series of nonsensical scribbling- Shizuka, however, in her spell work expertise, could easily identify the sheer genius in every scrap of paper. This was where Ichiru invented spells and where, in the middle of the night, she often lounged to read this era's literature and guide him with her own extensive knowledge. _

_Silently, she raised her eyes from the book in her hands to observe him. He sat at the desk, bent over a piece of paper as he steadily wrote. There was an intent look in his eyes and considering how long he had been quiet, he was onto something significant. His left hand, elegantly pressed across the page, tapped a restless rhythm with two fingers. His work was nearly complete; the excitement in his eyes was a telling sign of that. _

_Shizuka smiled to herself, content to watch him in silence. He was so different from the half-starved ten year-old she had discovered five years before. Regular meals and combat training with his brother and father had erased the frail, skinny frame of before. He was healthy, brimming with movement and tall- half a head higher than Shizuka now. It was amusing how much better the twins flourished under the care of a pureblood vampire than they had imprisoned by their human mother- ironic, even. What did Shizuka know about children? She only did her best to take care of them because she could use them- because they were treasures in her shining collection of stolen objects. Moreover, Ichiru's spells were the greatest treasures of all. _

"_Shizuka-sama," Ichiru broke the quiet, "I've figured everything out." _

_"Oh?" she replied, raising an eyebrow at the promising statement. The enthusiasm he was so obviously trying to suppress shown through conspicuously. His amethyst eyes locked with hers, desperately seeking her approval. Had she really twisted him around her finger so deftly these past few years? His eyes made her think that he would do anything for her sake; if that was true, it could not be more perfect._

"_Hai," he nodded, tapping a finger on his notes, "concerning your problem with concealing the vampiric nature of your spells before other hunters, I mean." _

_Shizuka blinked; she had not known he was working on that. The two sides of spell work- that belonging to hunters and that belonging to vampires- were noticeably distinguishable from each other, making it difficult for her to exercise spell work under hunter scrutiny. It was a thorn in her side- and a dangerous liability should her identity be discovered. She had thus far been lucky enough to avoid situations that required obvious displays of arcane ability but she doubted her role in the war would remain so simple for long._

"_Are you waiting to see if I die from curiosity?" she teased him when he failed to continue, a smile of anticipation tugging at her lips. The boy was priceless. She had _him _and so no one could defeat _her. _At this rate, her impersonation of the Shadow would become so flawless that even Shizuka herself would be fooled._

"_Gomen," Ichiru apologized quickly, the casual word spilling awkwardly from his lips and a light flush coloring his cheeks. _

_It was so easy to play with him. _

_He stood, collecting his notes into a debatably organized stack and standing. He crossed the room, delivering them into her waiting hands. The contents of his latest work widened her eyes._

"_It is impossible for you to cast spells the same way a hunter would," the younger Kiryuu twin explained as she read, "so I spent these last few weeks creating a cross dialect between the two types of spell casting. If you use it, your spells should become…androgynous- metaphorically- and no one will be able to tell that you are a vampire. You won't exactly sound like a hunter either," he added as she glanced back up at him, "but in general, it should just seem like you have a strange accent." _

_She felt a rush of affection for him, unable to hold back her pleased smile as she read over his writing. The brilliant solution would indeed be effective, she concluded, her lips absently shaping the spell work dialect as she read. _

"_Well done, Ichiru," she commended him. He truly worked hard. Perhaps it was cruel of her to steal him away from his bed each night to slave away for her in this office. He never seemed to mind but still…_

_She scoffed the thought away; he would not die of it. Even so, for one night, this was more than enough work. "You should go to sleep," she suggested warmly, rising from her seated position and laying one hand fondly on his face._

"_I don't think I could," he disagreed, moving away as if discomfited. He hid his reaction to her touch with an explanation and an airy tone. "I slept in late yesterday thanks to Zero keeping me up all night with his philosophical conversations."_

"_Philosophical?" she questioned in amusement, letting her hand fall to her side. Her eyes watched him closely._

"_Unfortunately," the silver-haired teen affirmed with a sigh. "He brought up my habit of luring people to their deaths along with what we should strive for in life. It was all tiresome ranting on his part; I won't force you to suffer by recalling it for you, Shizuka-sama." _

_"Alright," she accepted lightly. "Then if you are not going to bed, come to town with me."_

"_Town?" he blinked, surprised by her invitation._

"_I want to hunt," she explained, turning for the study door. "It is a nice night, however and I would enjoy your company." Vaguely, she recognized that her words were strange. Hunting was a solitary task. The feel of the night air, the scent of human blood and the tantalizing glimpses of white skin beneath moonlight- all belonged solely to the hunting vampire and could not be shared. Vampires did not hunt together and yet Shizuka had just invited a human to come with her._

_She smiled to herself, amused by her own peculiarities as much as she was amused by the surprise written across Ichiru's face. It did make some sense; with as often as Ichiru lured humans back from town, he knew her tastes as well as she did. Moreover, she did not actually want him to leave her sight just yet. She was far too fond of him, far too fascinated with his reactions as she drew him more and more inescapably to her side. What secret emotions was he hiding in those amethyst eyes? In a way, he was her prey as well- the beautiful creature she was desperately trying to devour in order to fill the aching void of loneliness within her. _

_That was right; the twins, even Ichiru who was a soul akin to her, were only like distracting wine in which she drowned her troubles. At work, she could hide in her persona as the Shadow- a vicious, sadistic and bloodthirsty monster that wanted only to kill. There was no grief in that. At home, when she had to be Shizuka, she turned her eyes away from the anguishing past and watched these children in amusement. The fact that Zero and Ichiru could distract her so effectively was part of what made them so valuable._

"_If you wish, I will come," Ichiru accepted, something in his tone suggesting that he would never in a lifetime have refused. _

_She left the room, laughing under her breath. For someone who hated the world so much, he was easily pleased. They stopped in the hall for coats and shoes before stepping out into the cool, spring air. Ichiru closed the wards after them as Shizuka locked the door- she could still hear Zero's steady breathing as he slept upstairs. _

_The sakura trees around the house were in full bloom as always but this time, it might even have been natural for them to flower. Suspended in a state of perpetual beauty and youth, they stretched out their branches towards the midnight sky as if offering their rich splendor to the stars. Their scent laced the air so completely that every breath Shizuka drew was heady and each gust of wind sent pale petals dancing across the courtyard._

_Ichiru walked at her side as they left the grand, old house and easily engaged her in conversation. The atmosphere between them was very good; the child had become accustomed to her over the past five years. He spoke quietly and cleverly, switching from bitter and cynical to light-hearted and cheery without ever becoming tedious. _

_The town was not far and they reached it quickly, pacing close together along the shadowy streets. By Shizuka's standards, it could hardly even be called a town- the buildings stretched for miles, a concrete jungle that was nothing akin to the remote little villages in her memories. Still, this place that housed thousands of people was dwarfed by the thriving metropolises of the age. Night was changed as well; in a world once illuminated by only the moon and stars, there were now lampposts and lonely strangers walking in quiet contemplation. _

_Shizuka's senses were alive, sounds drifting in echoes to her ears. As they passed small houses, she heard the steady rhythm of human heartbeats, the creak of floorboards as someone still awake crossed a room, the lilt of music and snatches of conversation. She watched the people they passed on the street, observing their faces and the way they moved intently before losing interest and continuing on._

"_Would you usually take one of these people still awake?" Ichiru asked her curiously as she dismissed another late going man. "I've never tried to find prey for you at night; it seems like there is less of a selection."_

_ "I listen and follow whatever sense catches my interest," she told him, smiling wryly at his last comment, "I can usually find someone who appeals to me that way no matter where they reside. It would be nice if there was a store I could go to, however." _

_He grinned in the darkness, doubtlessly imagining it. "If everyone in the world knew about vampires, one would invariably open. The modern era is all about convenience." _

_Shizuka actually laughed, surprised at the sincerity of her amusement. She would have replied but a footstep up ahead made her turn her eyes away from the boy- a man was approaching them, traveling the opposite direction down the street with a purposeful gate. He held a bag slung across one shoulder, a plain jacket and walking shoes. His features, discernable by Shizuka's keen eyes, made her blood run cold._

"_Evening," he greeted them pleasantly, intercepting them on the path. "A nice night, isn't it?"_

_ "It is," Ichiru agreed with a charismatic smile. "It may be the dark but you don't seem to be from around here. Are you a traveler?" _

_"Ah, yes," the stranger blinked, looking surprised, "I am indeed. What gave me away?" _

_Ichiru shrugged. "Just your manner," he explained offhandedly. "That and you seem to be lost. Need directions?" _

_"That would be wonderful!" the other replied, gratitude lighting his face. "I actually wanted to ask you- is there a reasonably priced hotel hereabouts? It's late but I was hoping to book a room." _

_"Of course," Ichiru assured him amiably, "the bed and breakfast two streets down is perfect for what you're looking for. It's usually not very crowded so they allow impromptu guests- though the rooms are western-style. Can you find your way there yourself?" _

_"Yes, thank you very much," the stranger said, bowing formally. "Meeting such a helpful person at this late hour is a blessing." _

_"Don't mention it," Ichiru dismissed, watching the man go. "Ne, Shizuka-sama," he said casually, "was he your type at all? We even know where he'll be staying." He paused, his eyes scanning over her face. "Shizuka-sama…what's wrong?"_

_ "I…" she swallowed, trying to calm her pounding heart. "That man…he merely bore quite a resemblance to someone I knew in the past." She let out a shaky breath, closing her eyes for a moment. "A resemblance- nothing more." _

_"Who did he remind you of?" Ichiru asked, his face strangely impassive._

_Shizuka shook her head. "It's not important. Let's go home, Ichiru; I don't feel so thirsty anymore." _

_o0O0o_

"_Oi, Shizuka," Zero said as he slipped into the dining room with a book in his hand. "Are you staring off into space again?" _

_Shizuka looked up, raising an eyebrow blandly at the teen boy. He often dropped the respectful honorific '-sama' whenever Ichiru was not around, keen on demonstrating exactly how little respect he felt. She honestly could not care less about the matter but his arrival and his rudeness allowed her a precious chance for distraction._

"_And are you being childishly impolite to your elders again, Zero?" she countered, a sly smile tugging at her mouth. Ichiru was her ally and coconspirator; Zero was her opposition and often, her entertainment as well._

"_It seems neither of us are going to change anytime soon," he deadpanned instead of answering before holding the book out to her. "Explain this to me, will you?" _

_She took the book, her eyes running curiously over the cover. "This is Ichiru's spell journal?" _

_"One of them," Zero admitted, "the only one I could find at least." "Alright," she said slowly, "then putting aside the fact that you have been rifling through your brother's personal possessions, this is where Ichiru records his completed spells in detail for the reader's use. Is that explanation enough or did you want me to tell you how to actually cast these spells?" _

_"I want you to explain the theme consistent throughout that damn thing," Zero replied flatly, placing a hand down on the dining room table and leaning towards her. "Purebloods. All of those spells are mental based with the intent to fight purebloods. I know he's not planning to use them against you so why the hell are they there?" _

_"Saa…" Shizuka said nonchalantly for the sake of infuriating him and handed him back the book. "You should ask Ichiru. Or do you not want him to know you've been invading his space?" _

_"There is no space between us," Zero scoffed, shaking his head. He took the journal. "We're the same person." "The two of you are very different," she disagreed mildly, "the same person perhaps, but different sides of that person." _

_"If you're not going to answer my question then just go back to staring out that window," he suggested, a subtle note of derision in his bland tone. "I'm sure the far off speck of dust you've been contemplating is far more worthy of your time."_

"_Oh, without a doubt," she assured him with a sarcastic smile._

_She did not actually wish to resume her thoughts but was at a loss as to how to say so. Memories of the human man from the previous night plagued her. He was so like the person she had already lost…cruelly so. It was a cruel twist of fate to stumble across someone so similar. They had the same brown hair, the same jaw, the same tall height. Their eyes were somewhat different but that was so easily ignored. All day she had been thinking of him, knowing exactly where to find him, just barely resisting the urge to rise from her seat and _take him_. _

_She hardly even knew what she intended. Would she turn him into a vampire? Would she drain him of blood and leave him barely alive? Would she even want him by her side? It would be painful- so excruciatingly painful. Discovering bit by bit that he was not the person she had lost, even if she knew such in the first place, would be the worst of torments. She wished the stranger had never existed. Then she wished she had him right there, trapped inescapably in her arms._

_She detected a shift in the house's wards just as the front door opened, Ichiru's voice reaching her ears. There was someone with him; she could hear two sets of footsteps._

"_Tadaima," the younger Kiryuu twin called lightly, immediately continuing his conversation with the company. "Come right in. You know, we have extra rooms- you could stay here for the night, if you wanted, Hidaka-san. That would give you more time to interview restaurant managers for your travel guide."_

"_You're too kind, Kiryuu-kun, but I can't possibly encroach so much on your hospitality." Shizuka froze, her body becoming rigid at the familiar voice. "You've already showed me around the entire town-" _

_"Ichiru," Zero called, "who did you bring home this time?"_

_ "Oh, Zero," Ichiru replied, leading his unsuspecting prey into the dining room, "this is Hidaka-san. He's writing a travel guide book so I showed him around town- you know, all the best local food and such. We got some good pictures too." He glanced at the brown-haired stranger. "This is my brother, Zero," he explained, gesturing at his twin. "You met my sister last night- her name is Shizuka."_

_ "It is an honor to meet you," Hidaka said politely, bowing to Zero who warily bowed back. He bowed again to Shizuka, meeting her gaze with some surprise. "Ah- you are much more beautiful than I had expected. It was dark last night so I didn't realize…" He faltered, trying off with a sheepish smile._

"_Why did you bring him here, Ichiru?" Shizuka asked softly, even Hidaka catching the cold note in her voice. She rose abruptly, stalking over to the younger twin. "Do you mock me?"_

_ "I thought you would find him interesting, Nee-san," Ichiru told her expressionlessly. "Don't you like interesting people?"_

_She drew a sharp breath, the situation leaving her speechless for a moment. Her façade of calm crumpled for a moment and Ichiru glimpsed the wild look in her eyes. He blinked, surprise and concern flitting across his face- he hadn't realized. _

"_I'm sorry-" he began, eyes wide. _

"_Enough," she cut him off, turning away. "Hidaka-san," she said quietly to the stranger, her voice instantly becoming gentle. "Come with me. My brother's joke has gone too far. I will guide you from here." _

_"Have I caused you trouble?" Hidaka asked, made awkward by the apparent 'family quarrel'._

"_Of course not," she shook her head. She moved forward, taking his elbow. "Come." She was not using a normal conversational tone- and in all truth, she was pouring her soul into every word to put him at ease, to coax him, to seduce him. As she led him from the dining room- not giving the twins a second glance- he was already being drawn into her spell, his eyes riveted on hers. _

_It was disgustingly easy. This human man did not know she was a monster. His eyes only saw her boundless grace, her unearthly beauty, her persuasive smile. If she were to threaten him with death and bring danger right before his eyes, would he perhaps glare at her silently as that person had? Or would he balk in fear and trembling, attempt to flee? She could not bear the thought so she affected harmlessness, innocence, pretending she had never soaked her skin in blood. _

_Refusing his every gentlemanly offer, she twisted his mind in circles until he did everything she suggested. She had hundreds of years on him and bending him to her will with only words was child's play. They were alone in his hotel room. She was slipping out of her clothes and embracing him, her mouth covering his, her mind grasping desperately at fleeting memories that eluded her endlessly. She was whispering in his ear, lies spilling from her lips over and over._

"I love you. I loved you from the moment I saw you. I will never let you go now."

_ He was asleep by dusk, the way his arms curled about her speaking of a day's hasty infatuation. Shizuka stared blankly at the ceiling, listening to his blood flow through his veins and his heart beat. She felt tired and utterly defeated. The weight of the past five years descended on her, making her naked body heavy and weary. The feelings within her were raw, unchanged from the day she had lost everything- no matter how determinedly she ignored their presence. Her vision blurred. She slipped one arm around the stranger's shoulders and wept brokenly in silence. _

_Several hours later, the same calm she felt on the battle field descended over her and the tears finally stopped. Her emotions distanced themselves, leaving her behind with only a vague sense of emptiness. She sat up, effortlessly extracting herself from her replacement lover. She glanced down at his sleeping face, suddenly revolted. She raised one hand- impulsively- to kill him. Nothing would bring her greater satisfaction than destroying him- him and the entire world. If only none of it existed… _

_Her hand was on his throat when she paused, drawing a sharp breath. Such senseless violence could be expected from the Shadow. She congratulated herself with a bitter twist of her lips. Sighing shakily, she slipped from the bed, donned her clothes and left him. The sheer want for destruction in her heart frightened her. She had always hated the world to some extent but this was beyond that._

_Ichiru was waiting for her when she returned home. He sat silently in the dining room, a book in his hands. The way he blinked himself out of his thoughts suggested that he had not been reading it however._

"_I wasn't sure you would even come back," he said. _

"_Oh?" she replied indifferently. Where else would she go? The whole world was like this. "Have you been waiting long?" _

_"In this room?" he shrugged. "Only five hours or so." _

_"I'm flattered," she sighed tiredly. She sat down across from him, resting her head on her arms._

_Ichiru was quiet for a moment, watching her. "Did you kill him?" he asked finally._

"…_I almost killed him," Shizuka replied. "I changed my mind." _

_"You're going to see him again then," he prompted. It was not really a question._

"_No," she denied. "Then why not kill him?" It was a demand this time, Ichiru's voice carrying a spark of passion that she had not noticed before. _

_She looked up and saw it- the reason he was always following her with his eyes, the reason he threw himself without reservations into her cause, the reason he was always there to speak to when she began to feel lonely. It struck her as absolutely hilarious. Ichiru loved her. She put her head back down and laughed uncontrollably._

_Ichiru said nothing and after a while, she felt enough pity for him to answer. "Gomen, ne?" she breathed lightly, closing her eyes. "I didn't kill him because I destroy enough already- vampires and hunters, you and Zero…Maybe I will change my mind again and kill him tomorrow. I don't know."_

_ Ichiru was quiet for a moment, then spoke. "You have been awake for a long time, Shizuka-sama; you should rest."_

_ "Perhaps," she agreed willingly. The high of her laughter was evaporating quickly and she stared lifelessly at the grains of the polished wood table. She did not particularly feel like moving at all. Her vision blurred again and she blinked rapidly, angry with herself for losing control in front of Ichiru._

"_Shizuka-sama," Ichiru sighed, standing up and taking her by the arm. "Come on; you will feel better in the morning."_

_ "If I don't have nightmares," she added bitterly, letting him usher her from her chair._

"_You won't," he assured her, guiding her carefully down the hall. "Just think of something else and let it out of your mind. It's all in the past." _

_"That's the difficult part," she confessed, the words flowing too easily from her lips. Ichiru was around her too often. He knew her far too well, dealt with her far too well. It made her say more than she should to him. She could not even stop the defeated tears spilling down her cheeks._

"_Just think how wonderful it will feel to murder your fiancé," he coaxed, taking her hand as he drew her up the stairs to her room- Saika's room. "You will strangle him with wires, stab him through the heart- and as he looks up at you in stunned horror, you will pull off your mask and he'll realize who you are…" _

_She laughed tiredly at the image, drawn into the boy's words. "Thank you, Ichiru," she said, feeling affectionate for him once again. "I will contemplate the matter most severely. I think I might need to stab him more than once to truly be satisfied with it." _

_"A hundred times then," Ichiru supplied, releasing her as they reached the master bedroom. "Get some sleep. I will bring you someone better tomorrow- a child, maybe? A young woman?" _

_"If you want to," she accepted, pulling back the sheets of her bed and sinking down onto the soft surface. The fresh linen had a crisp scent, yet untouched by any warm body and free of the tangling emotions that came with them. She turned her face into the pillow, aware of Ichiru crossing the room to stand at the bedside. He pulled the sheets up to her shoulders. She glanced at him just in time to catch the tenderness in his eyes._

"_Shizuka-sama," Ichiru said suddenly, his voice quiet. "Promise me you won't go to that man again." _

_"Aren't you the one who brought him to me?" she reminded him, looking up at him with half-lidded eyes._

"_I was just curious- I…I shouldn't have done such a thing," he bowed his head. "I am truly sorry." _

_"I forgive you," she dismissed. She would have gone after Hidaka even without Ichiru's interference. "It's fine." _

_"Then please." He met her gaze intensely. "Don't meet him again. You don't need him- you don't need a replacement for a person you lost in the past. You have Zero and I. Ever since you saved us, you have become…our family. You are the only person who has ever looked out for us. If you ever need anything, we can-" _

_"Ichiru." Her face became a mask, emotionless. "Using that plural, drawing Zero into this…is no good." It had amused her before but now she realized how dangerous the child's feelings were. He would be drawn in too close. Perhaps- if her enemies did not kill him first- she would even kill him herself. Her sort of mad existence did not allow his safety any certainty. Moreover, if he kept staring at her with such caring eyes, how long would she be able to resist? This beautiful child was the closest living person to her- her possession, her toy, but also her true friend. She owed him more than this. _

_Reaching out, she caught the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer, forcing him to bend over the bed. "I can see the longing in your eyes so clearly…" she murmured._

_A stricken look passed over his face, his cheeks flushing at being called out so abruptly. "I-" he faltered._

"_You love me," she asserted with a sly smile, "isn't that right?" _

_He watched her in frozen silence, all of his words gone. His eyes were locked with hers; he could not look away no matter how desperately he wanted to. She held him there._

"_You should abandon those feelings," she continued slowly, raising an eyebrow. "No matter how much I use you for my own entertainment, isn't it obvious that you mean nothing to me?" _

_She released him and he stumbled away, his face as white as the sheets on her bed. She could not deny that the cruel part of her enjoyed the sight. It was intoxicating to have this much power over him. _

"_Good night, Ichiru," she said, a clear dismissal._

_He straightened slowly and turned, numbly leaving the room. He paused for a moment in the door way. "Good night, Shizuka-sama," he said lowly, his tone revealing a maelstrom of pain, bitterness and want. He glanced back at her once before leaving, a smile on his lips that seemed starved. _

_It was beautiful and it haunted her dreams._

_o0O0o_

_Shizuka woke abruptly to the scent of blood. Her sleep fogged thoughts took several panicked moments to process the information her senses brought her, her body rising on autopilot. Was one of the twins hurt? Was it Ichiru? Was there an enemy in the house?_

_There was nothing amiss with the house- no sounds out of place. She could hear Zero's steady breathing from his room. Ichiru was downstairs, still awake in the dead of night and moving around in the dining room. A breath of night air reached her lungs and she ascertained that someone had recently been outside- Ichiru, without a doubt. The blood was not his yet the scent came from his direction._

_Her brow furrowed, a horrible sinking feeling filling her as she numbly left her room. Walking down the stairs barefoot, she stole soundlessly into the ground floor of the house. She did not try to hide her presence as she entered the dining room. She did manage to choke back a gasp._

_Ichiru was leaning against the table, a katana in one hand and his coat still covering his lanky frame. He held a glass of water in one hand, absently drinking as he stared thoughtfully out the tall windows at the rising sun. He was covered in blood. _

_The red substance had splattered across the front of his coat and flecks of it stuck to his face. The katana was painted crimson, only a few inches near the hilt spared from the taint. It was fairly fresh, still running down the blade and dripping onto the smooth wooden floor._

_Ichiru looked up, meeting her eyes. "I killed him," he explained simply. "Do whatever you want to me; I don't care." _

_She stared expressionlessly for a moment then closed the distance between him. He met her eyes unflinchingly but the wariness was still there- as was the pain. She leaned in close then ran her tongue once across his cheek, tasting the blood of the murdered human man. It was not the blood of someone she cared for nor even of someone she liked. It was disappointingly unsatisfying. The way Ichiru flinched away, however, was not; thirsty as she was, it took effort to draw away from him._

_She shrugged her shoulders callously and left the room. She was still tired. More than that, she had work tomorrow afternoon._

_She did not give in to how shaken she was until she was safe beneath the covers once more, torn between crying, laughing and bitterly lying still. _

o0O0o

~Present~

Shizuka met Ichiru's eyes over Zero's shoulder, her smile not reaching her eyes. Her mind was still reeling from the impact of Zero's words- the cold truth that denied her the ability to reject them. So she could not protect the people important to her? Yes, it was certainly true. The past had already proven her helpless to keep her treasured persons safe from death's vicious teeth. Those who got too close could never be protected by her. Perhaps she could hurt them beyond belief instead. Letting her eyes trail hungrily over Ichiru's stricken expression, she assured herself that inflicting pain was quite within her capabilities.

"Ichiru…?" Zero breathed out, his voice barely audible. His shoulders were rigid beneath Shizuka's hands. She could hear his heart pounding out a sporadic beat inches away from within his ribcage.

Ichiru blinked once, forcing the bitter, envy-sickened look from his face. He raised an eyebrow. "Bad time for me to walk in?" he guessed lightly and despite his practiced tone, his words still sounded ragged and sharp. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

"Oh, no," Shizuka assured him softly, "your timing was perfect."

"I see," said Ichiru. Out of words, he stood there uselessly for a moment before abruptly turning and leaving the room. That seemed to wake Zero up from his petrified daze.

"Ichiru!" the elder twin called out roughly. "Wait!" He raised one hand as if to reach out for his brother but the younger Kiryuu had already disappeared, his footsteps informing Shizuka that he had retreated upstairs.

Zero rounded on her, his eyes blazing. "What. The. _Fuck. Did. You. Just. Do?!_" he snarled.

She smiled cruelly at him. "I did warn you first," she pointed out.

"Why the hell did you bring him into this?!" he shouted, his voice shaking, his eyes wild. "Why the hell would you kiss me just to tear us apart?! He has nothing to do with it! He didn't do anything to you! You're _sick_! You're completely fucked up!"

She was saved the bother of replying by a loud smashing sound that came from upstairs. She blinked, pointedly turning her gaze towards the ceiling. "Screaming at me is hardly productive when you have _that _to attend to," she murmured.

Zero sucked in a sharp breath, then fixed her with loathing eyes. "I will never forgive you for this, Shizuka," he swore and the look on his face made his words easy to believe. "I will make you regret it. I will make you regret doing this to him."

"I did this to _you_," she disagreed calmly. "The best way to hurt you, Zero, is naturally to hurt him- to take him from you. Let's see who he turns to now that he hates you."

"Stay the fuck away from him," Zero warned her, already turning to leave the room. "You fucking vampire…just stay away from us both."

Shizuka laughed bitterly as he disappeared upstairs, covering her eyes with one hand. The situation could really not be more hilarious.

o0O0o

Ichiru stared blankly at the mirror he had just broken, not registering the little shards of glass sticking out of his knuckles nor the blood seeping out to stain his sleeve. He had acted without thinking, catching a glimpse of his own face- Zero's face. He was not even sure what that impulsive violence had meant. Murderous hatred for Zero? Bitter loathing of himself? In truth, he just wanted the entire world to stop existing. If only it could all be blotted out, this horrid place where everything he did amounted to nothing…nothing. Zero would always be there to take it all away from him.

Outside, a cloud shifted to abruptly uncover the late afternoon sun. Bright, winter light struggled to penetrate the heavy drapes of the room Ichiru shared with Zero, a thin line of gold cast onto the floor as the fruit of its efforts. The single strand of brilliance in the gloomy room shimmered on the shattered glass, dazzling his eyes for a moment before the sun was again smothered.

He knew what he had seen. What had transgressed between Zero and Shizuka was quite obvious, especially since he had returned from the basement so soon with the intent of discovering the cause of his brother's shouting. They had been fighting over her decision to send him alone to spring Aido. Obviously, Zero had said something unacceptable and thus Shizuka's choice to kiss him just as the younger twin walked in.

She had done it to hurt Zero, to break apart their relationship as a punishment. Ichiru understood that. It still didn't change anything.

The image was burned into his mind.

He heard rapid footsteps on the stairs, loud as they approached his room. Each hastened beat stabbed at the silence. He did not look up as Zero opened the door, his muscles tensing against a senseless storm of emotions screaming to be released.

"Ichiru…" Zero breathed.

Ichiru could feel his twin's eyes on his back but he could not bring himself to turn around. Why couldn't Zero just leave him alone? Why did Zero have to _exist?_

"Ichiru," Zero began lowly, his voice carefully quiet, "please listen to me. She only did that because-"

The words broke something in Ichiru and he whirled on his brother, stalking across the room. "I _know_," he bit out, his voice ragged. He stopped a few inches from Zero, eyes burning. "What I don't know is why you had to go and get drunk, then start screaming at her the moment we got home! _What_ did you say to her?"

Zero froze, his explanation dying on his lips. The color was gone from his face- just like the face Ichiru had shattered a mere minute before. Catching the scent of sakura blossoms on his twin, Ichiru lost his patience. He seized a fistful of Zero's collar and slammed his brother against the wall. "_What did you say?!_" he snarled.

"You're bleeding," Zero noted quietly, his voice shaking. He was afraid- not of Ichiru's anger but of the possibility of losing his brother completely. How long would it take to make amends? Could amends even be made? Ichiru could see every little thought in his twin's eyes. "Let me treat your wounds and I'll tell you," the elder of them bargained.

"Like hell," Ichiru scoffed sharply, looking at his twin in disgust. "I'd sooner go downstairs and ask _Shizuka-sama_ what you said than let you touch me."

"You stay away from her!" Zero snapped, seizing Ichiru's wrist and dragging him closer. "Can't you see what she's doing to you? To us?"

"It isn't _her_ fault," Ichiru hissed, "it's yours. If only you had just kept your mouth shut!" He voiced his thoughts of earlier, bitterness breaking his voice. "If only you didn't exist." Zero stilled, frozen by the earnest grief piercing into him from his twin's eyes. "Why can't you see it?" he whispered, his eyes shining with what could be tears. "That _vampire_ is cruel. Why defend her? Why remain with her? You mean nothing to her- you're her tool, her amusement, her _toy_. She will use you until you are dead!"

Ichiru blanched, but kept the pain from his face. It was true, of course. Shizuka had said so herself countless times. Pathetically, like a beaten and starving dog, he followed her around in hopes of the tiniest scrap of affection. It was contemptible. It was useless. He looked down, letting his bangs hide his eyes. Silence descended as he struggled to find the will to reply. Finally, he said, "I know. I also don't care." He drew a low breath, releasing Zero and turning away. "Say, you're comfortably settled in your new job with your hunter friends, aren't you, Zero?" he murmured quietly. "You seem to have had _so much_ fun today getting drunk as shit with them- so if you hate Shizuka-sama so much, why don't you move the hell out and leave us both alone?"

Zero drew a sharp breath. "Ichiru, what are you saying?"

"Leave!" Ichiru demanded, his hands clenching into fists. He glared at the floor with narrowed eyes. "I don't need you! She doesn't need you! Go be a hunter and kill vampires- or go die, for all I care!"

"Leave?" his twin repeated harshly, "sure, I'd love to! But if I do, you're coming with me!"

Ichiru met his brother's gaze over his shoulder, his eyes cold as ice. "No."

Zero looked back at him stonily. "Then I have to stay." He didn't flinch at the furious expression on his brother's face. "You are the only person who matters to me. From the moment we were born together, I've only existed for you- to protect you. I can't leave your side anymore than I can cut myself in half."

"Then _die_," Ichiru supplied hatefully, his voice desperate. "If you want to do something for me, go kill yourself."

"No," Zero refused again frigidly. "Not because of her."

Ichiru released a sharp breath, too angry for words.

"Is it her kiss you want?" Zero asked quietly. "Is that it?"

"What?" the younger twin demanded, raising his eyebrows in bewilderment. Of course he-

"You can have it," Zero resolved, catching Ichiru by the shoulder and turning him around. "It's not like _I _want it."

"What are you saying, you idiot-" Ichiru began but broke off when Zero roughly crushed their mouths together. He stiffened, shock freezing him long enough for his twin to pull him closer, hands fisting forcefully in his hair. Zero pulled him around, easily pushing his stunned brother against the wall. When Ichiru felt Zero's tongue shove past his lips, he jerked his head away in rage.

"What the hell are you-" he choked out furiously but the sharp intake of breath he had drawn with the words brought again the scent of cherry blossoms into his lungs. His eyes widened, the realization hitting him like a blow to the face. The memory of Shizuka holding Zero tightly in her embrace again swam before his eyes. A horrified blush colored his cheeks as he stared helplessly back at Zero. This…this was sick- and he didn't even care because her presence still lingered on his twin.

"Well?" Zero asked lowly, eyes taking in his brother's face.

"Shut up," Ichiru said shortly, capturing Zero's lips with a shameful desperation. Her kiss, her touch…The bittersweet desires dizzied him. Zero accepted him instantly, one hand stroking down his brother's neck as their tongues tangled together. Ichiru fingers twisted the fabric of Zero's shirt as he pressed closer, intent on banishing even the smallest bit of space between them. Heat rose beneath their skin, sending both their hearts into a sporadic yet synchronized rhythm. The elder twin broke the kiss for a moment to let out a shaky breath; Ichiru followed him hungrily, dragging his brother back. Zero responded with bruising force, his thumb digging into the younger twin's hip.

A distant peal of laughter broke them apart, shattering the moment like a dousing of cold water. Ichiru stared at his twin blankly, his face draining of color as the bell-like sound continued. Zero, equally frozen, took a faltering step away. The horror on both of their faces was a clear sign that they both realized.

Of course Shizuka could hear them. Of course she had been listening to every little word of their argument. Her pureblood ears were acute enough to pick out the sound as clearly as if she had been standing within the same room. Still remaining in the first floor dining room, she would have been able to discern everything they had done.

From the way her laughter got louder, she could only be crying with mirth.

"Tch," Zero spat, taking in the stricken look on Ichiru's face. He stalked away to slam the door of their room shut. The sound became fainter but still it continued. Zero released a long breath, staring at the wooden surface. "Ichiru, don't…"

Ichiru placed one hand over his eyes. "It's fine, Zero. I don't care." He moved away from the wall to his bed, throwing himself down on the mattress. "Just go to sleep," he ordered wearily, then added, "in your bed."

o0O0o

"I'm…sorry. By the time I got there, it was too late."

Kaname nodded, his expression impassive as he silently regarded the chessboard on his desk. The sun was beginning to set, casting its dying light in red and gold tints across his office. It gleamed on Cross's glasses, hiding his grieving eyes. Kaname picked up a black bishop, regarding it in silence.

"Telling Ruka and Kain will be difficult but they will do what they must," he assured Cross. "The Aido family will not be unprepared for this attack. Was he interrogated?" "…No," Cross denied, running his fingers through his hair with a ragged sigh, "at least there is that. He managed to escape in the middle of the day before they could torture him. His death was quick."

"And his ashes?"

"Left in a hallway," Cross answered. "There weren't any items left in his clothes." The ex-hunter hesitated for a moment, then added. "The Shadow's assistant killed him."

"I see," the pureblood murmured, placing the bishop carefully on the desk beside his chessboard.

"Argh!" the human exclaimed suddenly, his hands clenching into fists. "This isn't working, Kaname-kun! How are we to create peace when the world is intent on ripping itself apart? Eight long years and not a single on of our efforts have come to fruition…say something, do something…"

"Calm down, Cross-san," Kaname said, unphased. "We have lost a single piece but the game is set." He flicked the bishop over with one finger. "The battle to come will trigger a series of events that I have painstakingly arranged over the years…Peace will come in the end."

Cross shook his head. "I cannot share the same certainty," he sighed. "How will we tell Yuuki that Aido is dead?"

"She already knows," Kaname said simply, his voice drifting clearly through the wooden office door to where his sister stood trembling. "She has been listening since the start of our conversation."

Yuuki wept in silence.


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six: Frayed Edges

"Aaaahhhhh! What the heck?! Gah, no, _no_, why the hell are there _two _of you?!"

Aido fisted his hands in his hair, wishing very much that he had not bothered to open his eyes. It wasn't bad enough waking to find himself in a dismal, stone room and smothered with enough anti-vampire wards to make a _pureblood _queasy. It wasn't bad enough that he was still wearing some dead hunter idiot's clothes and had been kidnapped by the Shadow herself. It wasn't bad enough that his family was going to be murdered by a bunch of hunter psychos if he didn't escape and do something! _No_- apparently fate could never be satisfied. Now there were two Silver Hairs!

"Ugh, _shut up_- it's too early in the evening to be screaming already," the first Silver Hair said, wincing at the loud sound from where he stood by the thick, metal door of the basement. He had one hand placed over his eyes, messy uncombed hair and every sign of a bad hangover from blood shot amethyst eyes to scowling lips.

The other Silver Hair had a rather distracted look on his face, scarcely even paying attention to his vampire captive as he messed around with some wards. One of his hands was wrapped in bandages. Aido experienced a sinking feeling in his stomach as he realized that the ridiculously complicated spell work was not some ancient ward system developed by hunter masters but in fact, the work of the young adult in front of him. He was still sitting in the same place he had been unceremoniously dumped the previous night and thanks to the wards, he barely had enough strength to keep from keeling over right there.

He narrowed his eyes defiantly at Silver Hair Number One. "I'll shut up when you let me go, you insane hunter maniac!" he declared loudly. "And tell me why there's two of you!"

"Zero and I are twins, obviously," Silver Hair Number Two answered glancing at the noble with a withering look, "and as I told you before, you're going to give us an interview before you go anywhere."

Aido paused, recognizing the voice in shock. "You're-"

"_Shut up_," the first twin- the one who _wasn't _the Shadow's assistant- growled. The hunter actually looked pretty frightening so Aido acquiesced, hoping that murderous expression did not mean he was about to lose a limb. Satisfied that his orders were being heeded, Zero slumped against the basement wall with a sigh. "I hate this room, Ichiru. Can't we keep him somewhere else?"

"Prisoners have to be kept in dank, dark places with stone walls," the annoyingly silver-haired assistant explained blandly. "It's a rule or something." He finished his spell, turning to look at his brother. "Besides, this is the perfect room for avoiding that person upstairs…"

"Oh," said Zero, understanding immediately lighting in his eyes. "Because of the wards?"

Ichiru nodded. "It's warded against sound too." He rolled his shoulders in a tired shrug, seeming to have lost a lot of his previous caustic energy from the day before. "No matter. Let's get started."

Aido pulled himself- with difficulty- into a crossed legged position, doing his best to make his expression enthusiastic. "Okay!" he agreed lightly. "Self introductions! I'm Aido Hanabusa, I'm one hundred and seventy-seven centimeters tall and I'm seventeen years old. For food, I like anything sweet- or anyone sweet- and for fun, I do scientific experiments and write research papers. My strong point is that I'm a genius and my weak point is that I'm obsessed with killing hunters."

"Did he say anything important?" Zero asked in a bored tone.

"No," Ichiru sighed. "We already knew his name and that was the only thing even slightly above drivel. We're going to have to get serious."

"Hot candle wax?" Zero speculated, staring up at the ceiling. "Ah. There's that chainsaw in the gardening shed that we never use. I kept meaning to get around to fixing up the estate but…"

"That's a good idea," Ichiru agreed. "Go get it."

"Eh- wait!" Aido choked out as Zero started for the door. "You haven't even asked me a question yet! How am I supposed to know what you want to hear?"

"Who do you work for?" Aido faltered, the words dying on his lips. How was he going to get through this situation? He couldn't betray Kaname. Even…even if…he had to have his arms sawed off…or…

Ichiru was hardly phased by the noble's silence, his expression unchanging. "Why were you sifting through Association records?"

Aido swallowed, looking down. If he had only had a little bit of time before the interrogation, perhaps he could think of a believable lie. If he could just stall- "I need a moment," he tried. "I work for someone very dangerous and if I reveal any of their secrets, my fate will be worse than death."

"We can handle 'worse than death' too," Zero assured him generously.

"You have five seconds," Ichiru told the level B.

"Can't you show a little sympathy for this decision I have to make?" Aido exclaimed.

"What- suffer now or suffer later?" Zero deadpanned. "What kind of decision is that?"

"A scary one!" the vampire informed him piteously. "Isn't there even a shred of compassion in your heart?"

"Not for vampires," the silver-haired hunter denied.

"Time's up," Ichiru announced.

"Wait- you started counting already?!" The blond noble paled, nearly hysterical.

"Answer my questions," the assistant said coldly. "Who do you work for?" Silence fell around the room for a moment. Ichiru rolled his eyes. "Go get the chainsaw, Zero."

"Fine," the insufferably blank-faced hunter said, slipping out of the basement.

Aido stared at the metal door longingly, willing his body to move. He glanced at the Shadow's assistant, his throat dry. "So…" he said awkwardly, sensing that the interrogation was on hiatus. "You look kind of down since yesterday."

"I had a bad night," Ichiru told him flatly.

"Didn't sleep well?" Aido guessed, arranging his face into something passably sympathetic.

"Something like that," said the hunter.

"Must have been nice to have a bed and not just, you know, a cold stone floor-" Aido broke off with a shrug, "but still, I can understand that. Nightmares and all."

"I understand your pain too," grinned Ichiru, the twist of his lips bitter. "I slept in this room every night for ten years- ever since I was little. You're right. It _is _nice to have a bed."

Aido smiled nervously, wearily deducing that his captor had serious issues. It was always twice as difficult dealing with nutcases. Three times, if he counted the fact that these particular nutcases were twin, hunter lunatics with silver hair. The silver hair was really the worst part.

Feeling the last topic fall short, Aido laboriously propped one elbow up on his knee and let his head rest on his palm. "Is the Shadow coming to interrogate me too?" "I doubt it," Ichiru replied, his voice growing even more frigid. "She is occupied with other-" he broke off as the basement door slammed back open and Zero stalked inside. He did not have a chainsaw and he looked about ready to rip someone's head off. It might have been due to the presence of the silver-haired woman following along behind him.

"I told you I'm fine!" he was snarling at her. "We don't need your help getting him to talk!"

"I'm better than a chainsaw, Zero," she assured him, flashing a smile at Ichiru behind Zero's back- a smile that wasn't returned. "It will take less time."

"Shouldn't you be more concerned about hiding your identity?" Ichiru said quietly, his eyes strangely shadowed.

"It's fine," she brushed off. "We'll either kill the boy or erase his memories once we're done with him. It does not matter if he sees my face."

"Oh, so she's the Shadow?" Aido guessed, analyzing the newcomer apprehensively. She was strikingly beautiful; that was his first impression of her. Her long, silver hair was a shade lighter than the twins' and her eyes were the pale color of sakura blossoms. She was wearing casual clothes- jeans and a loose shirt that complimented her slender frame. Her feet were bare and a spherical bell was tied on a cord around her wrist. She seemed harmless enough.

He did not sense a hunter's aura coming from her but in the ward-smothered room, he doubted his senses were at their best. She turned to look at him and a sudden chill ran down his spine. Abruptly, he felt as though he ought to recognize her- not that he had ever seen her before but…

"Sou yo," she affirmed in a soft voice, a small smile on her lips, "and you are the son of the Aido family. Would you answer some questions for me?"

"As long as I'm not revealing any of my master's secrets, Shadow-san," Aido restated guardedly. "He would be furious with me, you understand."

"Is that so?" she murmured, approaching him in an unhurried way. She stopped a few feet away from him, somehow seeming ominous even with the calm look on her face. "But I have a better idea. If you tell me everything you know, I won't tell Kaname-san that you told it to me. Deal?"

Aido inhaled sharply. "How…you know who I work for?" He got that feeling again- that he should know who she was. His eyes flitted frantically over her face. Was she the twins' elder sister? She was too beautiful. Other than the silver hair, there was no resemblance.

"I know," she replied.

"Then…do you know what my mission was too?" he asked, the words coming with increasing difficulty. He felt his heart pick up a quickened beat.

She shook her head indifferently. "Surely to find the Association's next target or such. I don't care about that. You found some documents that were of interest to me but if I'm inferring correctly, you never meant to discover those papers at all. Is that true?"

He released a sigh of relief. "Yes! Yes, it was a complete accident! I barely even know what those papers were talking about!"

"I see," she nodded. "That's fine. You can tell me about Kaname-san instead."

The relief vanished that quick. "I…really can't…" he floundered. She was a lot less scary without the black costume, he told himself. Still, her strangely colored eyes were piercing straight through him. "He likes chess…"

"Chess," the Shadow repeated. "How interesting. Is he the last member of the Kuran family living?"

"Wh-what?" Aido felt his heart pound harder, panic making his face pale. How could she come so close to Kaname's greatest secret? He couldn't tell! He absolutely could not tell!

"His parents are long dead," she mused quietly, "but there were other family members…I want to know about them." Her gaze sharpened suddenly. "_Tell me_."

The words spilled from his lips before he could even think. "A sister," he said, his gaze riveted on hers. "He has a younger sister- Kuran Yuuki-sama."

The Shadow blinked, surprise ridding her face of that intense expression. Aido gasped, coming back to himself with a start. What had he just said?!

"No!" he cried out. "No, that was a lie! I lied just now! He's the only one left!"

"A…sister…?" the Shadow murmured, turning away. "That's interesting. I was not expecting that…I wanted to know about the uncle. Ugh, _more _Kurans…?"

"If he had a sister, why wouldn't she be in the Association records?" Zero asked, his tone dark. "Kaito showed me around; they have a whole database solely for tracking information on purebloods. There's even one on you."

Aido blinked. That's right. The Shadow was too beautiful. Too beautiful _to be human_.

"Juuri-san and Haruka-san must have kept her a secret," the silver-haired pureblood surmised. "It is not so surprising. They were like that."

"Ku-"

Ichiru looked up, his eyes fixing on the noble. "He's making strange noises," he observed blandly. "What did you do to him, Shizuka-sama?"

"Ku-kuru-"

"I used my voice to make him answer my question," she replied, her brow furrowing. "Nothing else."

Aido finally lost what little composure he had left. "Kuruizaki-hime! Aaaaaahhh! I'm going to die!"

"Shut up!" Zero roared, stalking over. "It's too damn early for shouting!"

A boot in the face was the last thing Aido saw before passing out again.

o0O0o

Ichiru, Zero and Shizuka stared blankly at the unconscious vampire, silence descending on the room. Zero's hangover was certainly affecting him; a human would have sustained serious damage from a kick like that, Ichiru noted. Luckily, Aido would be getting off with just a bad bruise.

"Is that better now, Zero?" Shizuka inquired considerately, though Ichiru could see a sharp mockery in her half-lidded eyes.

"Sound-wise, at least," the elder Kiryuu twin replied coldly. "I can't claim that his voice was the only thing grating on my nerves."

"Perhaps you should get some more sleep," she suggested softly.

"Right, and leave you alone with Ichiru?" he scoffed acidly.

"He is 'safer' with me than with _you_," she murmured.

A flush darkened Zero's cheeks, a stricken look crossing his face before dissolving into smoldering fury. Ichiru expelled a harsh breath, forcing down his own reaction to the comment and intervening before his brother attempted murder. 'Attempted' was easily the key word in that scenario.

"Not a single one of us needs to remain here as long as Aido is unconscious," he pointed out lowly, crossing the room to grab Zero's shoulder. He could not bring himself to look at Shizuka so he let his eyes rest on a point somewhere beside her head. "If there is anything else you wish to know, Shizuka-sama, we can always return once he wakes."

"Sou, ne?" she agreed easily. The small smile on her lips made it clear that she enjoyed pretending nothing was wrong. "We certainly did acquire a useful piece of information. I want to investigate the matter of Kaname-san's sister even if it does not relate to my main purpose."

Zero was still glaring. "Will you share this with the Association then?" Ichiru questioned in reply, distractedly digging his fingers into his twin's shoulder in warning.

"Oh, of course not," she laughed under her breath. Her eyes darkened. "They are corrupted to a point where I only want to use them as much as I have to." She shook her head with a low sigh. "Interrogate that child thoroughly later, Ichiru. Now that he knows my identity, he should be far more pliant. Otherwise, I'm sure you want to use him as a test subject for your spell work."

"Yes, thank you," Ichiru affirmed, his tone still somewhat stiff. Zero opened his mouth to say something and the younger twin hastened to cut him off. "If I may ask, why did he call you 'Madly Blooming Princess'?"

Shizuka released a weary sigh and at any other time, he would have felt guilty about bringing up a sore topic. "Saa…it is a nickname I acquired somewhere. In certain circles, I have a reputation for being completely insane- and the rest just followed with my affinity for out of season sakura." She smiled warmly and turned to leave the room. "Shall we go?" she said, effortlessly pulling open the heavy metal door. "Unless the two of you wish to remain in this nostalgic room."

"Well, if our choice is to either follow you or to stay…" Zero trailed off.

Ichiru resisted the urge to find the nearest wall and bang his head against it- or better, Zero's head. No attempts to keep the peace could stop Shizuka's retort at this point.

To his surprise, she only smiled- and turned her eyes to him, slowly extending her hand. "Ichiru?" she said, her voice gentle.

He really wanted to die. Living, even if he got to destroy a bunch of other people, was probably not worth it. He did not want to look into those eyes that were asking him if he had the will to disobey. He didn't- even if Zero was standing beside him, reminding him with a hand around his wrist that he was only dooming himself. All she had to do was smile and every thought in his head was destroyed.

Her eyes inevitably locked with his and the moment ended. He tore himself from Zero's grasp and reached for her hand.

Shizuka's fingers closed around his wrist before he even made contact, her grip as powerful as bands of steel. Her smile grew and in a single instant, she actually looked happy, all the tragedy of the last ten years just bleeding away. It made her glow like a white sun. Her gaze flitted to Zero and the expression became tainted with malice.

"Your choice is to follow _Ichiru _or to be alone," she told the elder twin softly.

Zero stared at her, his eyes darkened with something that looked frighteningly close to hate. "I'll always follow Ichiru," he spat finally then stalked past them, through the basement door and up the stairs.

Shizuka released Ichiru's wrist, her bangs falling in her eyes as her lips curved in a dizzy smile.

"We lived happily together for eight years," Ichiru reminisced bitterly under his breath, "I suppose it couldn't last forever."

"You don't think this is happy?" Shizuka said. Her laughter had the slightest note of hysteria in it; only someone who had known her for a long time could pick it out. She took a slow step forward then slumped against his chest, only her forehead touching him. He froze, looking down at her wordlessly. "I…_am _sorry," she told him, all of her smiles gone.

"What are you even saying?" Ichiru asked bitterly, his voice shaking. "I mean nothing to you."

He could not see her face but her shoulders seemed to sag. "The world means nothing to me," she said hollowly. "You're right…what am I saying?" She straightened, turning away. She took a few steps up the stairs, as if to leave with those words, then paused. She glanced back at Ichiru. "No matter how much I hurt you, you still follow after me…_Don't ever stop_."

Was is an entreaty or a threat? Her voice was low and filled with power; he could not tell. He looked away, his eyes fixing on the floor. "I couldn't if I wanted to," he assured her tonelessly.

She breathed out a laugh, her bare feet moving again, not making a sound. "I'm glad, Ichiru…I'm glad." Ichiru closed his eyes, letting his shoulder fall against the metal doorframe. Instead of lingering on her form as she walked away, his thoughts summoned up the image of her smiling when she had taken his hand. On her unearthly beautiful face, the expression was too radiant to even exist; perhaps he had imagined it. The sudden, staggering longing he felt at the thought drained the strength from his limbs and left him only with a dull, unbearable ache in his chest.

"Ichiru!" Zero called from upstairs, jarring him out of his gloomy musings. "Phone call!"

"Coming," he called back, unable to put much life into his voice. He left the basement cell, shutting and locking the door behind him before joining his dysfunctional 'family' upstairs.

Zero immediately tossed him a black cell phone which Ichiru caught as he made his way into the dining room. He pressed the device against his ear, adopting a casual tone as he answered. "Moshi moshi…"

"Ah, this is Shadow-sama's assistant, is it not?" a weary and somewhat exasperated voice replied, making a grueling effort to sound polite but only coming across as vexed. "This is the head of the Foreign Relations Department. If I could have a moment of your time?"

Ichiru blinked. The Association had a Foreign Relations Department? "Oh, _yes!_" he replied, somehow accessing his reserve energy and adding levity to his voice. "We've been expecting to hear from you; in fact, I was just picking up my phone."

Catching onto the fact that the assistant was messing with him, the head of department let out a tired breath. "Is that so? I'm afraid I must urgently request Shadow-sama's presence tonight at a meeting with the higher-ups. It concerns the attack plans on the Aido estate two days from now; it really is essential that she be there. If you could please get her to come?"

"I don't know…" Ichiru responded, pretending to think it over, "Shadow-sama is very busy as usual…Since when is the head of the Foreign Relations Department in charge of inviting essential persons to meetings?"

"Since today," the department head replied shortly, "and hopefully _just _today also. Everyone else is too busy running around like a chicken with its head cut off-"

"And why is that?" Ichiru pressed reluctantly, not really wanting to be the man's therapeutic good listener while he vented.

"The plans have been thrown into a complete mess!" the department head exclaimed agitatedly. "We have been receiving multiple reports that the vampires were warned in advance and are mobilizing a defense- and despite the possibility that they are preparing the first organized counter attack on the Association, the President is refusing to cancel the mission. _Not only that, _but the American Hunter Association is pestering us about some fugitive vampire who has apparently escaped to our country!" He let out snarl of distaste. "How did some idiot western vampire wind up with the Aido family?!"

"My, my, that _is _a situation," Ichiru sympathized. "I'll see if Shadow-sama can come- no promises though. When is the meeting?"

"Gah- do you understand how important this is-" "Temper, temper, Mr. Department Head," the assistant chided.

The man on the phone immediately checked himself, coughing once. "Yes, my apologies. The meeting will occur at three in the morning- two hours from now. It is very urgent that Shadow-sama be present. Please do everything in your power to make sure she comes."

"Well, I'll try…" Ichiru assured him dubiously.

"Er, yes, please do. Please," the department head added again. He was about to say something else but Ichiru hung up, snapping the phone shut and putting it in his pocket.

"Shadow-sama," he called lightly even though she wasn't in the room. "Did you hear that?" Shizuka glanced into the dining room from the hall, already dressed for the cold weather. "Sou," she told him. "Let's go at once. It will take us two hours just to be ready in time." "What? Where are you going?" Zero demanded, his eyes flitting to Shizuka suspiciously. "Another mission?"

"A meeting," she soothed, the mockery resurfacing in her eyes.

"I'll tag along," he resolved stoically.

"I don't believe you were invited," Ichiru recalled, not really needing an excuse to pick on his twin.

"I'll go with you as far as headquarters, then I'll pick up another mission or something," Zero shot back darkly, following Shizuka into the hall and retrieving their coats from the closet. He tossed Ichiru's to his brother then slipped the dark material of his own onto his shoulders. "Are you coming?"

Ichiru shrugged indifferently, putting on his coat. Shizuka said nothing to refute Zero's decision, guiding them out the door and resealing the wards as they left. The night air was as cold as ever, biting at their faces and hands. As Zero walked to the car, the pureblood caught Ichiru's elbow, leaning close to speak quietly to him.

"Ichiru," she murmured impassively, "don't call me 'Shadow' unless I'm actually wearing the blasted veil and hat- understand?"

"Fine, sorry," he apologized blankly, eyes locking on her back as she strode after Zero. If something like that had bothered her, she was surely still bothered by playing her worst enemy's role. He had never realized. Even after eight years, he barely understood her. What could Zero possibly have said to make her so furious that morning? What had been going on in her mind to make her breathe out an apology to Ichiru in the basement?

What was she thinking now- of the world and revenge and of death?

The Association was a madhouse when they arrived. Hunters everywhere were rushing this way and that, some bearing stacks of paper work, others frantically readying weapons. The sound of rapid footsteps and voices shouting over each other formed a din, echoing in the vast main hall. Even dressed as they were in their solely black battle gear, Shizuka and Ichiru managed to enter discreetly and the busy hunters around them paid no notice. Zero had separated from them soon after they entered the city, stalking moodily off to cross the rest of the distance to the Association on foot. No farewells had taken place. If left to his preference, Ichiru would have also enjoyed silence between himself and the veiled woman at his side but she had plenty of comments to share, her quiet voice barely audible to him in the loud hall.

"The upcoming battle will be quite a significant occurrence at this rate," she murmured, automatically shifting into the stride she used as the Shadow- bold, dangerous and challenging. "The nobles Zero faced off with the day before yesterday must have found the information they sought, thus warning their fellows. It would take more than nobles to arrange a full-blown counterattack however so we can expect Kaname-san's involvement." She shook her head in irritation. "The fact that this situation is devolving into an international affair is simply troublesome however."

Ichiru matched his pace to hers and it was only his long legs that allowed him to keep up. "The fugitive the Americans are looking for can't be all that big of a deal though, can it?" he speculated. It felt immensely good to talk about work instead of personal matters. "I heard there were no purebloods in America- only nobles and some commoners who crossed over with the colonization four hundred years ago."

"You are well-informed," she congratulated. She paused for a long moment, then admitted. "I know nothing about it. Perhaps I have remained closed off from the world for too long. Regardless, since it scarcely matters-" she added with a low breath, "-if we get dragged into this mess too, I will let you handle the decisions. I speak a fair number of languages but I know little of foreigners. You will do better than I."

Ichiru looked down, taking in the trust in her voice. He was hardly an expert and Shizuka had surely seen enough tourists to make good choices. She spoke English fluently, as he and Zero had learned early on to their chagrin. Why was she placing this subtle flattering on him now? Her quiet apology of before swam through his mind. Was she trying to make amends? He doubted he would ever forget what had happened but the idea of things going back to normal was irresistible. He just wanted all the conflict of the last few days to be gone. He wanted to forget. If she felt the same way, he could keep going.

Of course, his more cynical side whispered, she could always just be playing another mind game on him, trying to lull him into a sense of ease so that she could crush him again.

He roughly shoved that thought away and nodded quickly. "As you would have it," he agreed.

They reached the council chamber and he tugged open one of the double doors, holding it for her as she entered. He followed after and they slipped inside the noisy room, Shizuka seating herself in her chair at the round table and Ichiru taking up his place behind her. The meeting had not yet commenced and the various hunters present spoke tensely amongst themselves, discussing the battle ahead and the opposition they faced. The president was absent. Again, no one much took note of the two masked newcomers other than to glance up as they entered. The only attention they received came from a pair of strangers sitting across the table close to the president's empty chair- both of them foreigners.

Ichiru probably stared back just as much as he was stared at. The first American hunter was normal enough- a tall, well-muscled man with a square jaw and dirty-blond hair. He had sharp eyes and he wore a plain jacket, jeans and boots rather than the long coats Ichiru was used to seeing hunters wear. His weapons weren't visible but there could easily be knives hidden in his boot or inside his jacket. A strap just barely visible around his chest looked like it supported the holster of a gun.

The man beside him was the bizarre one. He was bigger than his companion, taller by a head and a half and about three times as wide around the middle. His head was shaped vaguely like a trapezoid and he sported a goatee, his hair shaved in a buzz cut. His body was angled forward as he sat, his back slightly hunched and a heavy leather coat garbing his enormous frame. His weapons were likewise concealed and his clear eyes gleamed with a sharp intelligence as he observed the room around him.

It was clear that neither of them spoke a word of Japanese.

"_Hey, check them out, sir," _the thin one said conversationally to his bigger comrade in English. "_You think all the black scares the vampires or is it just more fashion bleeding out of Tokyo?_"

"_I don't know, Yankee_," the big one said, his accent more twangy and a grin hanging around his mouth. "_Could be they're cautious with their identities. Could be they're less pretty than the Japanese Association President and don't want to admit it."_

"_Gosh, I can't decide which is more likely_," was the reply.

"It's definitely the second one," Ichiru observed idly to Shizuka, his low voice not even reaching across the table to them. "Every time I lays eyes on Androgyny-daitoryo-sama, I have to hide beneath my hood in shame…"

"You are prettier than that snake of a hunter," she disagreed mildly, not joining in with his sarcasm and her gaze still locked on the foreigners through her black veil.

Ichiru felt his cheeks flush and he allowed himself a moment to appreciate the shadows of his hood while he tried to discern any mockery in the statement. She only sounded honest, the words a simple observation. Great then; Shizuka thought he was pretty. He was not sure how to react except to excuse himself from the meeting and make use of the nearest fifth story window for suicide purposes. She was tearing him apart without even trying.

If he was pretty, that made Zero pretty too. His eyes narrowed and he stared at the wall, feeling cold all of a sudden.

At that moment, Yagari Touga walked into the room, his ice blue eyes bearing an annoyed but resigned look. His expression was likely due to the two young men following in his wake, one with shockingly red hair and the other with silver.

"Ah, look who shows up just when I want to kill him," Ichiru murmured blankly as Yagari took his seat. Zero and Kaito stood behind him much as Ichiru stood behind Shizuka. "His new friend's mentor is on the council so he gets to just stroll in here."

"Quiet," Shizuka ordered softly, straightening in her chair. "The president is coming next and the meeting will begin." She must have heard footsteps outside for a moment later, the beauteous, white-haired man- robes, fan and complacent smile all in place- stepped into the chamber, leisurely talking his place at the head of the table. A short woman with a clipboard followed him and stood at his shoulder. The chamber quieted.

"Good evening," he addressed the council pleasantly, tapping his fan against his chin. "As you already know, we must address several critical issues tonight- first, the upcoming attack on the Aido Estate two days from today. Somehow, a recent report gives us reason to believe that the vampires attained knowledge of the assault and are now preparing a coordinated defense with numerous forces of their own. That is the first issue." In the moments after this little speech, the woman behind him quickly began translating for the two Americans, her voice quiet and only loud enough for her listeners to hear.

"The second matter is to welcome our comrades from the Association of Hunters in America and to hear out their request to conduct their business in Japan," the president continued. He waved one hand at the big man with the leather jacket. "This is the American Association President, Read Scott-sama and his second in command, Johnson David-san."

"_Hey, what's up?_" Read said to the council, casually raising one hand with the equally casual words. Johnson just nodded, smiling.

Some of the hunters around the table bowed respectfully in their seats, others nodding to the foreigners.

"Due to the vampires' preparations against our planned assault," the president said once that was over with, "I have been advised to call off the attack. The Aido Estate will likely become the battleground of a fight more brutal than we have seen in years and should we proceed, we will have losses." He paused, letting the words sink in. "However, this is also the first time in years that the vampires have drawn together in one place. We will not have to hunt them down in groups of two or three. We will face hundreds and we will slaughter them in one fell swoop." He smiled slyly, snapping his fan open. "This could be the turning point of the war," he told the avidly listening hunters. "We will not change our plans. We will simply attack with greater force."

His words elicited severe nods of approval and fiercely determined expressions, a battle-eagerness gleaming in the eyes of those gathered. In the background, the translator spoke quietly on, relaying every word to the foreign guests.

The president turned to Shizuka. "Shadow-san," he addressed her politely, "there are rumors that a pureblood is responsible for the vampires' recent organization. Of all the hunters in this Association, you are the only one to have accomplished so many legendary feats. Should a pureblood appear, we will trust you to destroy it."

"Shadow-sama is honored to bear such a responsibility," Ichiru replied, earning pleased and admiring grins from the other council members. Shizuka inclined her head in affirmation of his words.

"Now then, with the more in depth aspects of our attack to be reserved for the tactics meeting," the president progressed, "we will listen to what our comrades from America have to say." He gestured towards Read.

After hearing the translated words, the American Association President began to speak. _"Okay, here's the situation. One of our more notorious targets, a lesser noble by the name of Adrian Grey, specializes in spy work, theft of information and general deceit. While plenty of his endeavors keep him within the United States and most of them have little to do with the vampire/hunter war, we have recently tracked him from England to China and finally, Japan. Our reports lead us to believe that he has been in contact with several known purebloods in all three countries and some of these have not been friendly encounters. We have brought a small team to Japan to apprehend him and as far as we can tell, he's going to be at this Aido thingy two days from now. We want to come along."_ After he said his piece, the translator took a few minutes to repeat it to the council in Japanese.

Yagari spoke up. "If this noble has come to Japan, it is more than within the Japanese Association's capabilities to apprehend him for you. If you give us his file and description, we can have him to you with much less hassle than if you were to go after him yourselves."

"_If it was navigating Japanese train stations, that would be a hassle_," Read replied via the president's bilingual assistant, "_but luckily all we'll have to do is take down a vampire noble we know pretty well. A noble the Japanese Association doesn't know."_

"One noble is much the same as another," Yagari disagreed stoically.

"_Yeah, well this one doesn't speak Japanese_," Read pointed out, his casually friendly grin never faltering on his blocky face.

"Arguing is a pointless activity when there is little time to waste," the robed president interrupted, fanning himself lazily. "Extra fighters in this battle will only strengthen us and we must get along with the other Associations of the world. Your party is free to join the assault and hunt down your target so long as your actions do not deter our plans." He paused and added, "though for the sake of cooperation, I feel it necessary to send one of our hunters with you."

"_Okay, works for me_," Read replied easily. "_The Shadow lady is busy already but how about the hooded guy next to her? He looks like fun to have around."_

"Unfortunately, Shadow-sama will be requiring my services," Ichiru replied with a salesman-like smile. He waved one hand in Zero and Kaito's direction. "I recommend the young apprentice prodigies with nothing better to do."

"Ah, yes," the president mused, "I had not meant to assign the duty at this very meeting but Yagari-san is certainly a skilled teacher. His apprentice is already strong enough to take on nobles and the other is responsible for bringing in the late Aido Hanabusa a few days ago. Do you approve of this suggestion, Yagari-san?"

"I would prefer that they go together," Yagari replied, "but I am not against it. Having a clear objective in the middle of a battleground is good experience."

"Very well," the president nodded with a satisfied smile. "Apprentices?"

"That's what I'm talking about," Kaito grinned, punching the impassive Zero in the shoulder. "We get to party with the foreigners. Thanks, Mr. President."

"It will be a good opportunity to affirm trust between nations," Zero said dispassionately. "With strong allies, we can more easily uncover the enemies lurking within our midst." His gaze flitted to Shizuka. Plenty of people noticed.

Ichiru tensed. Shizuka released a low hiss that only reached her assistant's ears. "Repeat after me," she told him softly, her voice holding a note of danger. "We've been forced into an awkward position and the only way is to throw the blame around and confuse anyone who can't follow."

"Well said, Kiryuu-san," Ichiru commended, repeating the words the pureblood spoke to him, "don't you agree, Mr. President?" As he finished the question, Shizuka placed one elbow on the table, leaned her head on her palm and smiled widely at the Japanese Association President. Her veil hid her eyes; her unwavering grin displayed a mouthful of human teeth, the fangs having already been filed away hours before. Ichiru stretched his mouth into a similar expression and together they grinned like the Cheshire Neko from Fushigi na Kuni no Arisu.

The tension of Zero's subtle accusation somehow left their court and was thrown to the androgynous president's instead.

The white-haired hunter's robed shoulders tensed, his eyes widening imperceptibly. Most of the other council members knew some sort of power play was going on but their comprehension stopped shortly after. Read's sharp, intelligent eyes moved from Zero to Shizuka to the president, analyzing and observing.

"I do agree," the president replied after scarcely a moment, smiling behind his fan despite his guarded eyes. "Vampires our deceitful creatures. We must work together. A good thing, as some of us noticed, that Cross Kaien-san is not here today." The strange atmosphere of the moment dissipated and grim smiles were donned.

Shizuka drew a low breath, her lips scarcely moving as she spoke to Ichiru. "That could have been…difficult," she said, her voice frigid. "If the president had any doubts that I was on to him before, they are gone now. It seems that Zero is willing to let a little argument interfere with our physical safety." Her tone softened. "Don't worry, Ichiru. Even if my identity is discovered, I will fight our way out of the Association before they can murder us both."

"I'll kill him," Ichiru gritted out. "Soon as we're out of here, I'm going to kill him."

"I will let you handle Zero," she assured him softly, "but don't go too far. He is still your other half."

She was being overly kind to him and he knew her well enough to realize what she was doing. Promising to protect him, enforcing his anger with Zero- they were forms of manipulation. From the start, the whole fight had been between her and Zero. She was not about to stop using Ichiru to make Zero's life hell. It was all the elder twin's fault regardless so Ichiru was hardly inclined to resist her subtle directions- but that didn't stop him from feeling a little bitter about it.

"With that, the meeting can be concluded," the president announced conveniently. "Unless our guests would like to engage in some friendly dueling with those of our council?"

"_Eh, I can't fight someone I don't plan to kill_," Read replied with a shrug. "_We only know guns in my state. There's guns for vampires, humans and everything in between but there's not much I can do about a duel. What about you, Yankee?_"

"_Sure, I'll duel_," Johnson agreed readily. "_My knives will work out just fine against whatever they've got." _

"_Go forth, young one_," Read commended dramatically. "_Face your opponent. Gain honor and wisdom."_

"Who will you challenge?" the president inquired, smiling slyly behind his fan.

"_The Shadow lady_," Johnson said at once with a grin. _"Let's see how good a masked hunter is."_ There was dead silence. A few of the council members started to laugh. Then Shizuka fluidly stood up, smiling graciously at the American.

"Shadow-sama is honored to accept your challenge," Ichiru stated, stepping back so that she could move passed him.

"_Oh, man," _Read said, cracking up, "_you had to pick _her_. Look at them all; you're screwed, Yankee."_

"_The veil will get in her way_, _sir_," Johnson assured him, also standing.

"_Yeah, okay_," the big hunter appeased, still chuckling, "_whatever you say_."

The two duelers crossed to the back of the large chamber where a ring was set onto the floor, almost as large as the round table beside it. Ichiru followed along but stopped at the edge of the circle. Shizuka and Johnson proceeded to stand in the center, about five feet apart, facing each other.

The translator remained behind but Johnson addressed Shizuka anyway. "_So you're called the 'Shadow' and you don't talk either?" _he questioned conversationally, drawing a pair of knives from his jacket. "_That's pretty mysterious."_

"_It's because Lady Shadow is so beautiful that she must hide her face to prevent our pretty Association President from getting jealous_," Ichiru said in English without missing a beat.

Johnson blinked, giving Ichiru a startled look. Read howled with laughter from back at the table, having overheard. The translator, fortunately, did not overhear and correspondingly did not see fit to relate the comment to the entire council and the androgynous president in question.

"_Gotcha; you heard us before hand when you walked in_," Johnson grinned, shaking his head. "_Does she speak English too?_"

"_Better than I do_," Ichiru affirmed with a grin.

"Let the fight commence," the Japanese Association President called as all the council served as spectators.

It did not really last long.

Ichiru barely had enough time to plan out what he was going to do to Zero before Johnson was flat on the floor.

o0O0o

Zero kept his face an expressionless mask as he sipped the hot tea his brother had made. They had returned home shortly after the meeting, the younger twin allowing Zero no illusions of remaining to take on extra missions. The ride back in the car had been utterly silent. All three members of the odd 'family' now stood in their favorite haunt, the dining room with windows that looked out at the night and the blooming sakura trees. None had professed to be hungry so the tea was lunch. The drinking was mostly silent too and Zero wondered why they all just stood there like they had nothing better to do.

Ichiru was pissed.

Zero's remark at the meeting had been extreme and he knew the younger twin was furious with him for it. Shizuka was probably furious too but she hid it better than Ichiru did, smiling mysteriously into her little green cup and bathed in moonlight from the window. Ichiru did not look at his brother but his eyes flashed every now and then, his features cold and all his movements restlessly abrupt.

Zero had mixed feelings as to the occurrence. He had probably endangered all three of their lives by inferring to the entire council that Shizuka was an enemy. The Association was just as likely to go after a disguised vampire's assistants as they were to go after the disguised vampire. That meant they might have tried to kill Ichiru- and of course, after taking off the younger twin's hood, that they might have tried to kill Zero. It had been a dangerous, risky and slightly suicidal move.

He had done it anyway and regretting it was difficult.

"You have decided what to do?" Shizuka queried all of a sudden, breaking the silence. Her voice was subdued but pleasant. She was addressing Ichiru.

"Yes," he affirmed from where he sat at one end of the polished wood table. "It will take me a few days. I have to do some research and then play around with the enchantment- not to mention, buy a proper vessel for it. It will be done by the time the battle's over."

"That should be soon enough," Shizuka mused, staring out the window. "If not, I'll do my best to control the damage."

"Right," Ichiru agreed, releasing a long breath.

"What are you talking about already?" Zero questioned wearily, hating the way she dared to discuss something with his twin that he didn't know of. He wanted her gone. He wanted to be somewhere else. The anger and pain was making him tired. Just standing there beside the table was taking too much effort.

"We were talking about you, Zero," the silver-haired pureblood said lightly, plucking absently at the forest green hem of her shirt.

"Right," the elder twin said coldly, echoing Ichiru's response of just a moment ago. "Then if you don't need us for anything else, Ichiru and I should leave. Neither of us got much sleep last night." She turned away from the window to look at him, her sakura-colored eyes unreadable and cruel smile playing around her lips. "No sleep? My, that must have been interesting," she murmured; the innuendo in her words was a deliberate insinuation. "Perhaps Ichiru should sleep in my room tonight just so that I know he is safe."

Zero opened his mouth, probably to snarl at her, but the sound of Ichiru's chair scraping harshly against the floor cut him off. The younger twin stood, his face blank of emotion and colorless as looked at his brother. "That's it," he said lowly, his voice slightly ragged. "That's enough. Zero, apologize for what you said to Shizuka-sama when you made her angry."

"Apologize?" Zero repeated in disbelief, setting the cup down roughly on the table. Tea sloshed over the edge and onto the wood. "Didn't you hear what she just said?"

"Yes, I _did_," Ichiru ground out, "and I'm tired of being used as a way of hurting you. She wouldn't be doing it at all if you hadn't pissed her off so _swallow your fucking pride and tell her you're sorry_."

Zero shook his head helplessly, shaking with anger but unable to release it at the soft-voiced monster he wanted to murder. His twin's stare held him captive. He drew a short breath, "I've been trying to protect you, Ichiru-"

"Yeah, well, I was a lot happier before you started protecting me," the younger twin spat. He stalked around the table towards his brother. "Now stop making us wait and say you're sorry! Before I kill you!"

Zero gritted his teeth, looking away. He wanted to break something but Ichiru was right. Shizuka had them trapped in her blood-drenched claws both before the fight and after. Opposing her this way was only getting his brother hurt. It would not help. It would not do anything because purebloods couldn't die from being yelled at. His hands clenched into fists, knuckles white on the back of a chair.

"I'm sorry," he said coldly, the words tearing at him from the inside.

Shizuka released a long breath and was silent for a moment. "The truth can always cause the most agony," she told him softly. She tucked a strand of silver hair behind one ear and stared impassively down at her tea. "Ultimately, you did not say anything untrue, did you? If you will force yourself to apologize for Ichiru's sake, then I will not deny my own imperfection." She smiled sharply at him and rephrased. "I won't deny my own uselessness." He blinked, taken off guard by the admittance. She thought she was useless because she had not been able to protect her beloved? It was an irony in this family, making such a claim; she knew it. Zero remembered the grief-stricken, empty expression on her face when he had spoken those words and it was easy to believe her now, guarded as she was.

She studied his face for a while, watching the bitter anger ease away. The sharpness left her expression, her eyes softening. "I would like not to bear that imperfection any longer," she murmured. "I will protect what belongs to me, the people important to me and the many…the many precious memories." Zero felt the tension leave his shoulders, his weariness doubling as the anger left him completely. He had lived with this ancient creature for eight years and he was still realizing that she was as pained as any woman who had lost everything that mattered. She was still cruel, still a monster. She still had to be escaped- but he understood. Even if he could not ever forgive, he understood.

"I'm sorry," he said again, quietly this time.

Ichiru released a relieved breath and turned away. The younger twin's eyes were closed and he looked just as exhausted.

Shizuka shook her head with a sigh and crossed the room. "Good night, Zero, Ichiru," she said sincerely.

Zero could not let her leave with just that however- because Ichiru was not looking at him. The elder twin understood the younger perfectly, even the subtle posture that was still stiff and still tensed. Shizuka may have forgiven him but Ichiru had not; the rift she had created between them was _still there_. Nothing _Zero _could do would make it disappear.

"Wait!" he said quickly, his voice quiet and his heart recoiling from the desperate idea in his mind. "Wait, Shizuka!" She paused at the doorway, glancing over her shoulder at him inquisitively.

"What about Ichiru?" he asked her, aware of his brother shooting him a malevolent glare.

"Elaborate," she instructed, her eyes shadowed as she stared back at him.

"Undo what you did," he told her. "Things cannot return to normal otherwise. Take it back."

"You mean when I kissed you?" she inferred. "It cannot be undone short of erasing your memories. Is that what you want, Zero?"

He swallowed and forced his next words from his lips. "No. Just balance us again. Kiss Ichiru."

"Zero!" Ichiru snapped, all the color gone from his face. "How _dare-"_

"Very well," Shizuka agreed softly, cutting him off. He froze, a stricken expression on his face.

"Don't listen to that fool, Shizuka-sama," the younger twin choked out, shaking. "This isn't what I want."

"He has a point, Ichiru," she told him, crossing back to the window where he stood.

Zero could barely stand to watch as she placed one slender hand on Ichiru's shoulder, pushing the younger twin gently down to the window seat. She brushed Ichiru's bangs from his eyes, her calm gaze holding him motionless.

Then she leaned down and tenderly pressed her lips to his forehead.

Zero's breath hitched. He watched her draw back, his entire body going numb at the sight of his brother's face. Ichiru's eyes were riveted on the pureblood, so painfully and hopelessly in love that the aching want shuddered into his twin and Zero could feel it just as clearly. His cheeks were flushed with both longing and broken, bitter hunger. No one should have been able to cause the younger twin to make that defenseless, defeated expression.

Zero had made a horrible mistake.

Ichiru snapped back to his senses a few moments later, mortification driving him to scramble around the pureblood to his feet. He was across the room in a heartbeat, his pace frantic. "I- I'm going to the town," he whispered, his voice barely audible as he disappeared out the door of the dining room.

Zero stared after him, feeling like there was a lead weight in his stomach. What on earth had he done?

A sharp inhalation drew his attention back to Shizuka. She was still facing the window but she had doubled over, her left hand splayed across the wall to her side. As he watched, her fingers formed claws and gouged ruts in the plaster. Her other hand was at her throat, her silver hair spilling over her shoulders and falling in her eyes.

"Shizuka, what's wrong?" Zero demanded, dread turning his blood to ice.

"I…have had a very…strenuous few days," she answered. Her voice was breathy and slightly hoarse. She coughed. Her fingers dug deeper into the wall. "Such emotions are exhausting; they weakened me, it seems."

Zero shook his head slowly at her words. He had to confirm his suspicion and in a rush, he stalked over to where she stood. He seized her shoulder roughly and pulled her around.

Her blood red eyes met his.

She smiled, her lips twisting bitterly over fangs that had reappeared after being filed down. "Nan da, Zero? If you were a vampire, that face Ichiru made would have you just as thirsty." She laughed, the sound alarmingly loud compared to her whispered words. "Oh, he is already gone," she breathed out, still smiling, "and calm down; I'm not going after him." She laughed again, pushing him effortlessly out of her way and leaving the room. She paused in the hall outside.

"Zero…" she said pensively, the smile gone. "If you say even a word about this to Ichiru, I will rip your tongue out."

It was Zero's turn to laugh. She wanted him. She fucking wanted Ichiru. Knowing something like this would heal all the pain in his brother. It would also cause the elder twin to lose Ichiru forever. He was not going to talk about it.

She didn't need to worry at all.


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: Check

Ichiru cursed under his breath, ducking his head against the wind and rubbing his hands together. It was bitingly cold, winter deepening and sovereign in the silent, black night. He had been dressed for the weather earlier upon leaving for work but now that he was home and wearing a simple long-sleeved shirt with jeans, his attire was highly ill-suited to the frigid air. He had not thought about that before running out of the house but the only thing left now was to endure the cold.

There was no way he could go back just yet.

He walked on for a while down the empty road, his pace brisk in order to keep his blood moving. Frost was settling on the grass around, the trees moaning softly as the wind insistently tested their strength. His footsteps were the only other sound, rapid and unsteady. He released a shaken breath, the memory of warmth against his forehead briefly banishing the chill. He shook his head angrily, walked faster and placed one hand over his eyes.

Shizuka was cruel. Zero was selfish. The world was fucked up and devoid of any color but red. Those facts had always been constant throughout Ichiru's life but tonight, they were driving him mad. He had hoped forcing his brother to apologize would mend the gaping holes in their hoax of a family. That seemed to have worked, in some respects. Shizuka was no longer on the verge of killing Zero and Zero was no longer on the verge of _trying _to kill her. Except that had not been good enough for Zero. No, he had to have the scores settled with Ichiru and him _too_.

Ichiru came to an abrupt halt, turning and letting his back fall against a nearby tree. He expelled a low breath, images dancing in front of his mind's eye.

He was like a man dying of thirst and given one drop of water.

The longing was going to kill him. He wanted _more_. He wanted _something_. Or could she not have just callously crushed her mouth to his as she had done to his twin? That would have been easier to accept. Instead, Shizuka had tormented him with what he craved the most- her sincere, tender affection. At his twin's insistence.

He swallowed, a bitter smile twisting his lips. God, Zero was so damned funny…

"Ichiru!"

The devil himself came running down the road to him, stopping a few feet away and pausing to catch his breath. Zero had obviously run all the way from the house to find his brother, his breath steaming in the cold air. He straightened finally, his eyes locking with Ichiru's in a stoic but endlessly compassionate gaze. He had a coat draped over one arm; wordlessly, he held it out to his brother.

So Ichiru slammed a fist into his twin's jaw.

Zero hit the ground a moment later, eyes rolling into the back of his head. Ichiru stooped down and picked up the coat, slipping it onto his shoulders.

"Thanks, Zero-nii," he said with a cheery smile. "You're always around when I need you." Honestly, he felt a million times better. And warmer. He had such a considerate elder brother.

Ichiru finished his walk to town in improved comfort, wandering down the streets until he saw what he was looking for. He was still exhausted from the sleepless afternoon of before and tempted to resume a diurnal schedule but by this point, he was far too worked up to sleep. He had plenty to do and picking up a bunch of blood donors was probably the first thing on his list. The group of young, drunk business men was easily coaxed into coming over for 'a few more drinks' as the bar they had just left was closing. He chatted companionably with them and was soon helping to support the further gone of the group as they teetered back to the mansion.

The party of five did hit a roadblock upon finding an unconscious deadweight lying on one side of their path.

"Ahh!" one of the sloshed business men exclaimed in horror, turning to Ichiru, "this is like that story where you find your own corpse lying in the middle of the road!" he moaned. "It means you're going to die!"

The others expressed similarly morose statements and offered condolences for Ichiru's impending death, crowding around Zero with solemn expressions on their faces. One of them burst into tears. Reasonably touched, Ichiru suggested they throw a farewell party back at the house in light of his oncoming demise.

"What about the corpse?" asked the same one as before, wide-eyed as he supported his weeping companion.

Ichiru blinked, shrugged and shook his head dismissively. "Just leave it there; we'll probably be cursed if we try to move it."

They immediately agreed and continued on their way, telling Ichiru to send them postcards from the afterlife. The younger Kiryuu twin appeased them absently, debating whether or not the night was cold enough to freeze his brother to death. It probably was not. On the off chance that that Zero managed to die from something so pathetic, the elder twin deserved it. Ichiru sang along with one of his drunk companions' songs and dismissed the thought all together.

When they got back to the house, Shizuka was no where in sight and Ichiru expelled a breath of relief. She would hear them come in; if she wanted some of the night's catch, she could take it at her leisure. Ichiru set them up in the living room with drinks and scanned their faces. They were all young and reasonably good looking. He picked the one Shizuka was least likely to want and cajoled the drunk fool down to the basement, leaving the others where they were. They would last the pureblood a week.

It was time for work.

"Are you awake yet, vampire?" he asked as he opened the thick steel door, the blood donor close behind him.

The shadowy basement room was much unchanged. It was still the same barren 'suite' of stone rooms, a main room leading off into a smaller equally empty bedroom with a bathroom attached. A few tattered books were scattered randomly across the floor, keepsakes of the Kiryuu twins' childhood. Intricate wards smothered the walls, buzzing lightly against Ichiru's senses. Aidou Hanabusa was nowhere in sight.

A hasty footstep was all the warning Ichiru got before a fist swung at his head. It was enough. He nimbly dodged to one side, the attack flying past him. He stepped forward, slamming his own blow into his opponent's stomach. The blond-haired noble doubled over, the breath knocked out of him. Ichiru kneed him in the jaw, blood speckling the vampire's lips as he fell.

"Whoa!" the drunk businessman exclaimed.

"Are you an idiot, Aidou-san?" Ichiru inquired, staring down at the noble flatly, "because trying to take me on in a room this completely warded is stupid."

Aidou was too busy convulsing with pain to answer so the hunter just flexed his aching hand a couple times. That had been a few too many uses in the last hour. His knuckles were battered, one newly formed scab broken open; it had been Zero's hard head that had broken the skin in the first place, of course.

"Is he okay?" the business man asked dazedly. "I think you hit him too hard…"

"Bastard," Aidou choked out. "You're going to kill me; just do it already."

"After going through all the trouble of bringing you dinner?" Ichiru replied incredulously, sarcasm subtly coloring his tone. "No." He turned to the blood donor. "This is Aidou Hanabusa," he told his plastered guest, "he's a Level B vampire. Aidou-san, this is…" He paused. "What was your name again?"

"It was…" the business man faltered, his brow furrowing in confusion. "It was…wait, did you say vampire?"

Aidou's blue eyes got big and he laboriously sat up. "You…_what_? You mean _him?!_"

"Yeah," Ichiru affirmed tediously.

"But you're a hunter!"

"Yeah."

"And he's a human!"

"Astounding observation."

"You can't do that!" the noble insisted.

"I just said that I'm not going to kill you," Ichiru intoned, distractedly knocking the blood donor in the back of the head. That was three uses in the last hour. The business man slumped to the floor. Ichiru's knuckles began to bleed. "That means I'm going to feed you too. Douzo."

Aidou's eyes instantly turned scarlet and his body tensed. His gaze first settled on Ichiru's hand; the hunter smiled coldly at him and his predator's mind quickly directed him to an easier target- the unconscious human beside him. Aidou had not eaten in over two days, if Ichiru was any judge, in addition to acquiring severe injuries; the maddened way he sank his teeth into the business man was not even slightly surprising.

Ichiru leaned his back against the wall, waiting as Aidou gulped desperately at the font of life he devoured. The vampire's hands were splayed across the young man's chest, nails piercing the fabric of his suit, head bent to his throat. His chest heaved as he drank, pleasure causing his eyes to half-close. Finally, the noble's breathing slowed and he reluctantly drew back, forcing the red from his irises. He sagged back to the floor, looking tired but not as ragged and agonized as before.

"You didn't kill him," Ichiru observed. "Saving the rest for later?"

Aidou glanced at him warily, looking slightly unnerved. "I thought you would kick me if I drank too much," he breathed out, face pale, "though I never kill the people I drink from. It is against my master's beliefs." His eyes narrowed, his voice gaining strength. "Apparently, it is not against your mistress's. You betray your own kind- as she betrays hers!"

Ichiru grinned merrily. "I told you my brother and I were locked in this room half our lives, didn't I? 'My own kind' did that to me. Shizuka-sama can say the same. The whole world can go to hell for all we care. No, actually, we do care. We _want _it to go to hell."

Aidou let out an angry hiss. "You think that because a _couple _of dirt bag humans locked you up and a _couple _of dirt bag vampires locked up _her_, that makes the whole world worthless?"

"Worthless, hideous, useless," Ichiru shrugged in response. He plucked a spell journal and a pen out of his pocket, casually flipping open the page. "I didn't come down here to discuss philosophy, by the way. I need your help."

"I'm not going to help you," the noble spat, coldly turning back to the business man and pressing a torn bit of cloth to the neck wound. He was trying to stop the bleeding, Ichiru noted.

"There's gratitude for you," the silver-haired hunter marveled blandly. "Fortunately, I _don't _need your permission. Remember that healing spell I used on you back at the Association? I need to make it work on purebloods. That means figuring out what I did right last time and upping the strength…" With his other hand, he drew a long knife from where it hung concealed at the back of his neck, "and of course, you'll need to be wounded."

He spent a few hours venting his emotions in a productive way. Having a noble to work with allowed him to make incredible progress and he collected numerous test results for both his healing spell and plenty of others. Aidou collected numerous injuries, burns and allergic reactions as side effects. It was regrettable but the world would not destroy itself. Once satisfied with his research, Ichiru left the basement, leaving the vampire and his pet business man in two heaps on the floor. He firmly set the steel door back in place, listening for the click of the lock as it shut.

Shizuka was in the living room when he came back upstairs.

She smiled pleasantly at him, the expression heartrendingly warm. He halted, overwhelmed by the sight of her for a moment. She really was beautiful. Even that word by itself was not enough to describe her. Her lips were full, slightly parted as she regarded him. Her eyes were timeless and deep, powerful in their gaze and the color of early spring sakura. Her hair was the purest silvery-white, spilling down her shoulders and around her body like snow, a contrast of seasons that aligned with her simultaneously cruel and affectionate personality. She was slender and graceful even in stillness, the languid pose of her body filled with both sated drowsiness and lingering hunger.

He was not jarred out of his daydreaming until he remembered that there were supposed to be three young business men getting drunk in the living room instead of one smiling pureblood vampire. He blinked a few times and glanced around, his eyes falling on the sofas, the TV they rarely turned on, the coffee table, the beer cans strewn across it. He found them a few moments later- piles of ash and clothes in various locations. Shizuka watched as he investigated, her complicated expression not changing.

He thought of a perfect analogy: a cat who had just stolen all the milk, eaten all the mice _and _found a nest of helpless baby birds. He shook his head, dusted the ash off one side of a sofa and sat down wearily.

"Ichiru," Shizuka said conversationally, her melodic voice soft, "did you leave Zero lying on the side of the road, unconscious and in danger of freezing to death?"

"Sou desu," he affirmed shamelessly. "Twice."

She covered her mouth with the back of her hand to suppress a mirthful chuckle. "Ah, I scarcely wondered but one must always be sure when the tale comes slurred from a drunken mouth." She rested her head on her palm, staring at Ichiru. "The children you brought were absolutely senseless. I killed the first without even restraining the others and they simply stayed there, unresisting. I ate them one by one." Her eyes grew more intent, her voice more rich. "I sat down on the last one's lap and he told me all about your motionless doppelganger while I drank every drop of blood in his body."

A shiver ran down Ichiru's spine. It was something about her tone, the explicitness of her words. Her eyes seem to lock him in place, both beckoning him closer and daring him to run away. He realized that the careless way her body was draped across the couch was actually a guise for hidden tension. Every muscle was taut, poised to lunge into movement. His mouth suddenly became dry.

The sound of the front door banging open made them both start and Shizuka placed one hand over her eyes, expelling a weary sigh. "Okaeri, Zero," she called, raising her voice to only a decibel louder than before.

Zero slammed the front door and walked stiffly into the living room. He looked half-dead and his lips were slightly blue. He said nothing and slumped down beside his twin, his head falling onto Ichiru's shoulder. He was shivering.

Impassively, Ichiru wrapped an arm around his brother, pulling him closer. Lying knocked-out in the cold for hours was enough penitence in his mind. Zero was forgiven.

"Now that we're all here," Shizuka murmured, the energy gone from her body, "I got a text from the Association. It seems that we should get some rest because the attack is being rescheduled for tomorrow night instead of the night after. We must be ready."

Ichiru nodded, stroking his fingers through Zero's hair. "Understood," he told her. "Did you hear her, Zero?" he asked, glancing down at his twin. He frowned; Zero was already asleep. He shook his brother awake. "Idiot. We're attacking Aidou's Estate tomorrow night and sleep on your bed, not on your twin, will you?"

"Not moving," Zero declared lowly and closed his eyes again.

"Move or I'm dumping your ass on the floor," Ichiru threatened with good humor.

"I can carry you upstairs, Zero," Shizuka offered sweetly when the younger twin got no response.

"Like hell," growled Zero, standing up. "Let's go, Ichiru."

"Fine, fine," Ichiru yawned, pulling himself to his feet and following Zero. "Oyasuminasai, Shizuka-sama."

"Oyasumi, Shizuka," Zero echoed, shooting her a wary glance.

Shizuka's hand twitched as if she intended to stop them but all she did was smile and say, "Good night."

o0O0o

"The first thing to do is to break the wards," Shizuka had told them calmly, each word holding a focused sort of precision. "The Association is going to waste several hours trying to get them down with brute force and the few experts they have. In the meantime, the vampires will employ the various number of traps they have set up around the estate to kill us off before the battle begins. They're counting on this early start to lower enemy numbers."

The Aidou Estate was not comparable to the little mansion the late Kiryuu Saika and Akihiro had owned. It was indeed a mansion but it was twice as large and twice as excessively grand. It was easy to imagine a person like Aidou Hanabusa growing up here, strolling arrogantly through the vast gardens, sleeping in one of the fourth story bedrooms. A family so wealthy doubtlessly had a dozen maids at their beck and call and threw dozens of parties each year. The estate did not look nearly so hospitable at the moment however, the tall gates surrounding it smothered in vampire-cast wards to block the hunters out.

"The hunters will have to attack as a group in order to protect their expert spell workers," she had continued. "It would be suicide to just walk up to the gates and attempt to destroy the wards unassisted; it's the last thing they would expect. That is why we are going to do it."

Dressed in his black battle gear and nearly blending in with the shadows, Ichiru walked unhurriedly down the road, beside the estate's tall brick wall. He carefully analyzed the wards as he went, holding an image in his mind of the complicated strands of word woven together into a massive, glowing shield. It stretched up into the sky, forming an impenetrable dome over the area. He let his consciousness extend towards it, beginning to murmur quiet words under his breath.

Three steels arrows suddenly flew towards his head, deflected a second later as Shizuka appeared by his side. The sound of them ringing against the steel of her wires lingered in the air, the deadly missiles now hanging uselessly in the metal cat's cradle woven between her fingers. She was gone again the next moment, melting into the darkness. Ichiru kept walking.

"I will defend Ichiru while he breaks the wards," she had explained, halting the protest on Zero's lips, "and of course, lend my assistance. These wards are not _meant _to be taken down quickly so your brother's unique abilities are essential, Zero. Believe me; _I will not let anyone touch him_."

As he neared the main gates, he was already fully engaged with the estate defenses, muttering constantly under his breath as he slipped past the external wards toward the core phrase. He had memorized countless of his own spells in preparation for this moment and they served him well. Shizuka in the mean time, danced around him like part of the darkness itself, deflected the attacks that came with greater and more hastened frequency.

"We're not just trying to take the vampires by surprise, you know," Hiou Shizuka had reminded her two accomplices lowly. "We are trying to unbalance the hunters as well. We know every one of their plans but we are not their subordinates. We will obliterate the wards without their permission, their knowledge or their support; I am looking ahead. I am attacking the confidence of our own Association President. He will surely hurry to convene with his contacts on the Council- we will be waiting to follow and catch him in the act. Moreover, showing off is a necessity." She had laughed lightly. "The more influence I can attain, the more easily we can move."

A storm of knives, arrows and even elemental projectiles such as fire balls and lightning bolts were flying through the air towards Ichiru. Shizuka repelled them all, her black hat and veil darkly obscuring her face. She herself deactivated many of the traps set along the cobblestone road, absently dispelling paralysis wards in a soft voice that reached only her assistant's ears.

Ichiru inhaled slowly, finally locating the core phrase.

_Family, father, mother, sister and friends of a dead, loyal friend._

The hooded hunter looked up at the wards, his eyes making out lines of vampires crowding atop brick wall and behind the wrought iron gate. Their movements were rapid, their glowing red eyes wide as they tried to injure their mere two attackers and repeatedly failed. Even in the dark, their vampiric sight would be able to make out exactly what assailed them- a black-coated legend with an ever present grin on her lips and a wizard who tore through their wards at lightening speed.

"Monsters," Ichiru said in a whisper, his voice lilting and velvet as he countered the core phrase of the spell. "Traitors, hypocrites, parasites and sycophants to those you claim to protect."

The wards ignited, bursting into white flame that swiftly devoured every meticulously woven strand of the ancient language, devouring the defenses and reducing the dome to nothingness. It fell and for a moment, silence reigned on the earth.

Then defiant, violent, angry screams rose up through the air, roaring in a din of hatred from every place and every location. The gate was flung open, hundreds of vampires pouring out of the estate grounds and some leaping fluidly over the brick wall to the cobblestone road beyond. They surged out like a tide of demons, their glowing red eyes tinting the air around them with a malignant glow.

For a moment, only Shizuka and Ichiru stood carelessly between them and the rest of the world. Then the entire Japanese Association of Hunters was rushing up from behind them, their long trench coats hung with weapons that glinted in the crimson light.

The war began. Blades and bullets clashed with fangs and bloodlust. Shrill screams of pain, murderous snarls and dying shrieks stabbed through the night as ash joined corpses on the cobblestone road. Shizuka flung herself into the fray, her wires gleaming, an uncharacteristic yet nonetheless elated grin splitting across her face as she slaughtered her own kind beneath the guise of a black-bodied monster.

o0O0o

"_The wards are down!"_

Zero blinked as a roar went up through the hunters. They had been lying in wait for the Association's signal, preparing to launch an assault that would theoretically provide cover for the spell experts. The hunters had not needed to break the wards themselves however; Ichiru had handled them all by himself with Shizuka's protection. Doubtlessly, the higher ups were going to be rattled by the Shadow's audacious, unaided actions but technically, she was not under their employ nor obligated to obey their orders. The legendary hunter had been formally invited along.

Of course, as unbelievably fast as the wards had come down, Shizuka would be just as unbelievably quick to take all of the credit. Zero hung back as his fellow hunters charged for the gates, their booted feet thundering against the cobblestone road. The atmosphere was very different from a mission; this was a full-out battle and stealth was irrelevant. The men and women around him did not hold back at all, charging fearlessly forward to face the red-eyed sea of monsters.

Zero waited. He suddenly regretted accepting a side mission because Ichiru was alone in the middle of the fray. He had Shizuka to protect him, of course, and Zero _did _believe her promise to guard his brother- but still. It felt strange to be apart from his twin in such an important situation.

"There you are, Zero!" Kaito greeted breathlessly, coming up behind him. His blue eyes were bright, exhilaration and excitement written across his face. "You won't believe what just happened; the Shadow and her assistant went up to that trap-laden gate _alone! _And they _broke the wards! _The president's going to eat his fan in shock!" He laughed, grabbing his fellow apprentice companionably by the shoulder. "Oh, those damned vampires are getting it tonight!"

They separated from the rest of the Association, walking briskly down the road away from the gate. They found their entry point after a few minutes- an unguarded part of the wall that had been previously impassible due to the wards. Zero gave Kaito a leg up and the red-haired hunter nimbly pulled himself up onto the wall, offering Zero a hand after. They jumped down to the other side, listening for enemies but hearing only the distant sounds of battle.

"_Hey, the apprentices are here_," Scott Read greeted, his voice somehow still conveying its cheery levity despite its hushed tone. The American Association President and his subordinate stood beside the wall, hidden by the shadows. Johnson grinned just as amiably, nodding to them.

"What did he say?" Kaito asked, looking to Zero.

"He said we're here," Zero replied.

"Of course we're here!" Kaito exclaimed in a loud whisper. "What I want to know is how that enormous guy got himself over the wall! What the hell?"

Zero shrugged indifferently. "_Mr. President_," he greeted stoically in English. "_Has there been any change in our objective?_"

"_He speaks English_," Johnson marveled. "_Thank god_."

"_Heh, you practiced all that pantomiming for nothing_," Read informed him. "_That's great since I think the Shadow lady messed your head up the other day. I speak your language and I still couldn't figure out what the hell you were trying to say_."

"_Never hurts to be unprepared, sir_," Johnson defended himself mildly, "_or at least to attempt preparation_." He held out one hand to Zero. "_There hasn't been a change._ _I'm David Johnson, just in case you missed my name at the meeting. Nice to meet you_."

Zero shook his hand. "_I am Zero Kiryuu_. _He is Kaito Takamiya._"

Johnson shook Kaito's hand after Zero's, grinning when the red-haired hunter fumbled. "_Right, sorry; I'm no good at bowing_."

"I don't get foreigners," Kaito told Zero while smiling widely at Johnson and nodding as if he understood every word. "Should I bow to the big president guy or should I shake his hand too?"

"Just leave it," Zero advised, glancing warily around the area.

"_There's a back door not far from here_," Read told them. "I_ had Johnson scout out the area while we waited for you. It's warded just like the gate was though so it's going to take all of us to open it." _He drew a gun from his leather jacket, smoothly flicking off the safety and pointing it down at his side. "_There's vampires wandering all over the place though so let's do this carefully. You got six?_"

"_Sure_," Zero agreed, drawing his own weapon as the Americans took point. "We watch from behind," he told Kaito and his friend nodded.

"Got it."

They followed along behind, there senses bombarded with vampiric auras that neared and then drifted away. Distant screeches and snarls rang through the night, raising hairs on their necks. The darkness crawled around them as they made their way to the mansion ahead, stalking silently over the empty lawn. Zero's eyes moved restlessly, searching for danger. From this point on, he and his three teammates were going directly into the house. He could not spare any more thoughts for Ichiru at the main gate. He had plenty of his own danger to deal with.

The hunt began.

o0O0o

Yuuki hugged her knees to her chest, staring at the grains in the wooden floor. She was utterly quiet, curled into one corner of her room and listening silently to the sounds of the house. Kaname was pacing in the study, his footsteps barely audible but steady as they pressed into the carpet. Ruka and Kain were together in an upstairs sitting room, the latter restlessly moving about and the former sitting still. Kain stalked about the room like a beast in the cage and Yuuki knew why- he wanted to be at the Aidou Estate, fighting to protect his family. Kaname had ordered him not to go however and who could defy the Head of the Kuran House? Every now and then, Ruka would expel a soft breath, quiet and grieving. Outside, a gentle night wind rustled the trees.

The atmosphere of the house was stifling and Yuuki was amazed she had not begun screaming yet.

Kaname would doubtlessly approve of how she was quietly handling her grief. He liked her to do things quietly and gracefully- to cry without making noise, to walk without leaping or jumping around, to speak in a reserved manner. She tried her best for his sake but it was tedious and maddening. She was only allowed to release her exuberant personality when expressing her affection for him. Aidou had been her outlet, her confidante, her friend. He had railed at her in exasperation as she bounded around and acted ridiculous- but he had never told Kaname.

Yuuki rested her forehead against her knees. She would murmur his name to herself but then Kaname would hear. Then he would know and then he would come up to comfort her. She wanted to be by herself. She hated to admit it but she was sick of him. She was sick of everything- this house, her books, of not being able to run freely and taste the night air. She was tired of the war and of the hunters and of death. She was tired of her brother's incomprehensible plans and his metaphorical chessboard. She was tired of precious people being killed.

Kaname came into her room sometime later to tell her he was going to meet with the Council.

"How is the defense going?" she asked him. He had certainly worked hard over the last three days to put a resistance together, gathering vampires from everywhere to fight against the hunters who threatened to invade such a vulnerable sanctuary. It was thanks to Aidou, Ruka and Kain that the information had been found at all; he had made the best of it and Yuuki appreciated him for his effort.

"Not well," he told her quietly, walking over to place one hand on top of her head. He did not ask why she was sitting on the floor in a fetal position. "I just received a report that the Shadow herself attacked first, breaking the wards with some strange spell no one has heard of. I'm hoping to convince the Council to send reinforcements." He noted her disheartened expression. "It will be alright, Yuuki," he assured her, sinking to one knee. He kissed her forehead before rising again to his feet. "Stay here and don't cause Kain and Ruka any trouble. I will be back soon."

"Hai, Onii-sama," she told him, watching as he closed the door of her room, then listening as his footsteps wandered downstairs and out of the house. She waited ten minutes before standing up.

Artemis was her staff, a hunter weapon that her Kuran blood gave her the ability to use. It had belonged to her mother- though technically, like all hunter weapons, it was on loan by Association and Kaname had just managed to convince them into parting with it. It was cool beneath Yuuki's fingertips and she gripped it tightly as she took it out of its case. She set it on the bedside table and then dressed for the cold weather, her movements too fluid and soft for the nobles upstairs to hear. After putting on a warm, white coat that reached to her knees, she traded the delicate shoes Kaname liked for a pair of simple running shoes.

Silent as a ghost, she then fled the house, Artemis held firmly in hand.

The scent of blood impacted her like a bullet the moment she neared the Aidou Estate. She was fairly far away too, the light wind carrying the heady aroma of pain and death on currents of winter air. Dread began to set into her heart though it was not fear for herself. She was afraid of how much ash coated the cobblestone road, how many splatters of blood were not reaped from dying hunters. Were the children sheltered within the estate still alive? Or was she too late?

The cacophony of noise was the next thing to register with her senses and she was quickly assured that the battle was still in full swing. Screeches, gunshots and snarls rang through the night, assaulting her ears with the varied sounds of agony. She hastened forward down the road, leaping nimbly up onto the twelve-foot brick wall that surrounded the estate. She crept along it for a few moments until she could see the fighting.

The hunters had pressed through the gate into the courtyard, the vampires desperately holding a defensive line around the front door of the mansion. Corpses and ashes littered the cobblestone beneath their feet but Yuuki could easily discern that more vampires had died than human warriors. She could sense the remains of various traps left by the defenders- spells and wards, steel and fire- but most of them had already been sprung or deactivated. The vampires had little left on their side to help them win. The hunters, as it was, had a demon.

The Shadow stood out on the battle field, a black figure in the night who cut down everything around her with methodical ease. Blood painted the ground around her, news sprays erupting from her targets as her vicious strides carried her swiftly to the kill. As Yuuki watched, her wires caught a glimmer of moonlight as they twisted around a level B's neck. She drew the wires taught and the noble's head flew from his neck, bouncing several times across the stone. She turned in search of a new target. She was a predator that made prey of predators, her aggressive movements were harsh but fluid. The vampires seemed to recognize that and none moved to attack her, instead shirking away towards less invulnerable opponents. It did not keep them alive. She stalked them like darkness itself, her gossamer veil trailing behind her.

Yuuki remembered Aidou's family home. She had come often once Kaname finally called off her childhood house arrest. She had never been to one of the vampire parties but Aidou had shown her around the vibrant gardens and ordered the maids to bring her cookies. It was a beautiful place. It had been the root of happy memories. Now it was a nightmare of ashes and blood, the dear friend who had lived here murdered by the same monster that now assailed its gates.

Yuuki drew Artemis, extending the crescent moon sickle with an audible snap. She stood tall, gazing down somberly at the hunters and vampires below. Her presence felt, they gradually separated and stilled.

"This is a sanctuary," she said, her voice brimming with suppressed anger and grief. "This is a sanctuary, hunters. For children. For _families_." She leapt down from the wall, her strides gaining confidence as she strode out into the rift between the two warring sides. She turned to face the hunters, holding Artemis out before her. "_I will not _let you hurt anyone else. _I will not _let you slaughter us!"

She could feel the hopeful and desperate gaze of the vampires on her back. She was painfully aware of their injuries now that the battled had halted. None were free of blood and though they had not surrendered, they were weary and broken from their attacker's unrelenting numbers. "_Save us, Lady Pureblood_," a whisper caressed her ears. "_Save the children_."

The humans before her wore dark merciless expressions, their wariness and fear of her pureblooded aura only visible in their eyes. She knew already; she was only another heartless monster to them. They wanted to destroy her in order to protect their own kind. They did not realize that a child was a child no matter what sort of being it would one day become. They did not realize that vampires too were capable of kindness and love if only they were taught to give it.

She did not want to kill them but she had no choice. If they would not back down, she would fight with all her strength.

"Go home," she told them, unflinching while she stood as the sole force between them and the vampires they hunted.

"Unfortunately, we can't," an airy male voice informed her, not the faintest note of concern in his words. His voice was carefully tuned towards levity but there was a quiet danger in his words as well, a velvet-like quality to the timbre that seemed suited to the dark night. "What would the Association think of sixty or seventy hunters who cannot even get past a cute, young girl? We would all lose our jobs or at best, be demoted to exterminating rats…"

Yuuki drew herself up, her eyes searching for him in the crowd of hunters. "I am a pureblood," she declared, fueling her steady tone with the tormented anger she felt. "I am a pureblood you know nothing about, one you have never seen before." She drew in a low breath. "I am not harmless at all and I have plenty to protect. I will kill all of you if I have to."

"_Yes, kill them_," the vampires whispered to her. "_Hurry- kill them! Kill them!_"

"I do know something about you though," the same hunter as before contradicted. She caught sight of him then as his fellows parted to let him and his companion through. Her blood ran cold. "Your name is Kuran Yuuki, isn't it? You are the sister of Kuran Kaname. You are the youngest pureblood princess. And _you're in our way."_

"You killed Aidou-chan," Yuuki said blankly, her fingers tightening around Artemis.

The Shadow's assistant stood mockingly before her, his face hidden by a hood and shadows that even her keen eyesight could not penetrate. Like his mistress, he was dressed all in black, his leather armor hung with subtly gleaming weaponry as it sheathed his tall, lithe frame. He held a katana stained in blood. There was a smile on his lips.

"Yes, _Aidou-chan_," repeated the assistant, earning a low rumble of laughter from the hunters at his back. "He mentioned you a lot. What was it he said…Oh, that's right; something like 'save me, Yuuki-chan!' and 'it _hurts_, Yuuki-chan!' It was very interesting!"

Yuuki's breath hitched in her throat. She suddenly could not think straight. The vampires she had to save faded from her mind as did the multitude of hunters before her. The only person who existed was the murderer in front of her, the one who dared to smile after cutting down her dearest friend!

"I'll kill you," she said softly.

"What was that, Yuuki-chan?" the assistant wondered, extending one hand towards her. "I didn't hear you."

"I'll kill you!" she cried and lunged at him, crossing the meters of distance in a fraction of a heartbeat as she raised Artemis in a wide swing.

The blow that was supposed to sheer him in two and denote her first human kill never connected. Her opponent's deft motion began before her words had fully left her lips and ended when her scythe was mere inches from her target- but the one she was to fight was not the Shadow's assistant.

Yuuki froze, her scythe having snagged on a cat's cradle of metal wires. She stared at the dark figure barring her way, her heart beginning to hammer in her chest even as anger turned her vision red. The Shadow's eyes were lost behind a black veil, even the vague shapes behind the gossamer fabric dissolving into distorted, incomprehensible lines. The tall woman's mouth was the only indication of her humanity and the only part of her not swathed in black. As Yuuki watched, those cruelly curving lips began to shape soundless words.

"My, my, attacking the wrong person," the assistant marveled from somewhere beyond his defender. "Did you know some of us were actually worried when you showed up? A waste of time, I think. To anyone intelligent, it would have been obvious exactly _who _was mocking you."

"You," Yuuki murmured, her jaw clenching as she stared back at the hunter she engaged.

"Did you know something else?" the casual male voice asked softly. The Shadow's lips shaped his words a second before he spoke them. "Purebloods are so much easier to kill when they're angry…"

To say Yuuki was unprepared for the Shadow's attack was an understatement. She had been confronted before from time to time by thirst-maddened level E's and hot-headed young hunters. After Kaname had finally let her leave the house several years ago, she had been forced to defend herself. She had managed it well enough, overcoming the fear of fighting back and learning to rely on her vastly superior strength and speed to win. It was always enough to get her through.

This time, it was not.

Yuuki jerked back instinctively as a glint of wires threaded across her vision but the reflex only seemed to put her further into the trap. The Shadow moved without a sound, darting suddenly forward, her subtle weapon spinning like a spider's web. Yuuki lashed out with one hand as she stumbled back, raising Artemis with the other. Wires curled around her fingers and the Shadow was already gone, Yuuki's scythe catching empty air. Abruptly, her entire left arm was locked against her side, sharp pricks of pain coiling about her skin as she tried to free it. Panicked, she broke away from the fight, stumbling back to stare warily at her enemy.

A wire was twined around her body, binding her arm to her torso. Yuuki could easily snap metal wires, she theorized and began to pull- but the sharp metal cut through her jacket and was soon slicing harshly against her skin. She realized that the wires were forged from anti-vampire metal, evidenced as blue lightning crackled up and down her arm. Her heart began to beat sporadically, trying to thump its way out of her chest.

"Feel free to break your restraints, Yuuki-chan!" the assistant called lightly. "You'll also sever your arm in the process, of course. No matter, right?"

Yuuki swallowed but gritted her teeth, not waiting for the Shadow's next attack. She darted forward, spinning Artemis over her head with one hand and bringing it slashing down at the black-garbed hunter. The Shadow sidestepped out of the way, coolly lunging around another strike and lashing out with more wires in hand. Yuuki just barely managed to avoid them this time but having her arm tied down put her off balance. She was completely caught off guard when the Shadow lunged downward and wires looped around her knees. Sharp threads of steel locked her legs together, cutting deeply into her skin as she tried to move and fell.

Yuuki went down as the Shadow straightened, the hunter woman knocking Artemis from the pureblood's hand as she stood. Deftly, the Shadow caught the scythe with black gloved hands, spinning it skillfully once before pointing it down at the fallen vampire's throat.

"You can surrender, Yuuki-chan," mouthed the black-garbed woman's lips, soon echoed by her assistant, "or I can cut off your arm with your own blade."

Yuuki drew a sharp breath, trying to think. One of her arms was still pinned uselessly to her side and her legs were worse off, tangled in wires that had already cut centimeters deep into her flesh. The pain was raw, chaffing more with excruciating slowness every time she tried to move. She had one free arm. She began to push herself off the ground; Artemis stabbed through her shoulder.

No blue sparks erupted from Artemis's blade. Yuuki could at least be grateful that her own staff would not betray its owner. Her healing abilities were already well restricted by the wires however and the scythe's blade pierced cleanly through her, colliding with the cobblestone paving beneath. Yuuki screamed, her voice piercing through the night.

She could feel the horror of the people she had failed. She could feel their despair as they slowly began to retreat.

"I…I won't…" she gasped out. Her mind was white hot. Her vision was tinted red and she could barely see her tormentor. She raised her trembling free hand only to feel another slash across her upper arm. She screamed again, shutting her eyes tightly. Her arm fell limply back to the ground. She could not bring herself to move, feeling weak as her blood flowed rapidly out of her.

She did not resist as the Shadow knelt down at her side, placing a hand to her forehead-

-and the world went dark.


End file.
